


Peter Parker's December

by InADifferentLife



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: 31 Days of Fanfiction Challenge, 31 Days of Ficmas, Avengers Tower, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Irondad, Irondad & Spiderson, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Other, Parent Tony Stark, Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Slice of Life, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 12:29:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 50,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16810642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InADifferentLife/pseuds/InADifferentLife
Summary: December is Peter's favorite month; it's the one time of the year when everyone is more cheerful, and the world is filled with the magic of Christmas. Peter always looks forward to the twinkling lights, snowy nights, and holiday surprises; but this December might just hold a bigger surprise than he could ever imagine.*This will be updated daily from Dec. 1st - Dec. 31st.





	1. Saturday, December 1st

**Author's Note:**

> I thought about this in October and have been very excited to start writing it. I hope you all enjoy following Peter's day-to-day life throughout the next month.

As Peter slowly started to wake up, he snuggled further beneath his covers where it was nice and warm. He rubbed his eyes and stared blankly at the wall for a few moments before suddenly bolting upright.

“It’s Christmas First!” Peter shouted as he leapt from his bed, excitedly rushing out of his room at the Tower—where he spent every weekend—to find the other Avengers. To the boy’s dismay, he found the tower empty.

“Friday? Where is everyone?”

“They were all called away on a mission, Peter. It seems there was an incident downstate.”

“A mission downstate? Where exactly?”

“I’m afraid that I’m not at liberty to discuss the exact location with you.”

“What? But I’m an Avenger!” Peter argued. Friday paused before responding which made Peter wonder if she was considering his argument. A moment later, a holographic screen appeared, and a recording from earlier that morning began to play. The boy looked at the screen, seeing Tony unmasked in his Iron Man suit; the other Avengers suiting up around him.

“Okay, Friday. When Peter wakes up, tell him that we had to go on a mission. **_Don’t_** give him specifics. I don’t want him to do something stupid like try to follow us down here.” Peter huffed. It was totally not fair. Mr. Stark said he was an Avenger, so why did he still get treated like a baby? As if on cue, Tony continued speaking after a brief pause. “And if he starts to whine that I’m treating him like a baby, remind him that we already discussed which missions he is currently allowed to go on. This is not one of those missions. I doubt my Spiderbaby wants to sit through a lecture from Aunt Hottie any more than I do.”

“Wait, ‘Aunt Hottie’? Why haven’t I met her?” Bucky asked in the background of the video before Steve punched the man’s flesh arm. Peter rolled his eyes.

“Shut up, Barnes. You got that, Fri?” The recording stopped, and the screen disappeared. Peter wondered for a brief moment why it was necessary for Friday to show him the conversation rather than simply relay the message. He realized the AI, who had picked up every bit of Tony’s sass, probably found it more amusing for Peter to witness the “Spiderbaby” and “Aunt Hottie” comments and the boy rolled his eyes again.

“Well if you won’t tell me where they are, can you at least tell me when they’ll be back?”

“That has yet to be determined. By the rate at which things are going, I believe it will be late this afternoon at the earliest.”

“What?! That’s the whole day!”

“I’m sorry, Peter.” The boy pouted and kicked his foot against the floor. It was the first day of December, and he was all alone in an undecorated tower. What a lame way to start off his favorite time of the year. He shuffled over to the kitchen to make some breakfast when an idea came to him.

“Friday? Are there any Christmas decorations here?”

“There are many Christmas decorations. Boss normally hires some people to come to decorate every year, but I believe he has forgotten this year.”

“He hires people? But decorating is so fun! Tell me where they are, I want to surprise everyone!” Friday directed Peter to a storage area several floors below the Avengers’ living quarters. When Peter found an entire room dedicated to Christmas decorations, he laughed excitedly as he began to haul boxes to the elevator.

* * *

It was nearly 4 PM before the Avengers returned to the tower. They were all tired, hungry, and a bit cranky as they piled into the elevator and silently rode up to their living quarters. When the doors opened and they stepped out onto their floor, their jaws dropped in surprise. The Avengers had expected to come back to their quiet living room decorated in neutral colors. Instead, they walked into a living room that could rival one of Macy’s holiday windows. Christmas music was blasting, and the smell of freshly baked cookies wafted through the air as they looked around in awe. There was not a single thing in the apartment that had been left untouched. There were Santas and reindeers, angels and nativity scenes. Shiny tinsel garland was wrapped around everything, including the TV, and colorful lights were hung inside every single window. There was a large tree—which had been beautifully decorated with white lights, tinsel, and colorful ornaments—complete with a toy train running beneath it. The room went quiet for a brief moment as “Silent Night” ended. “Frosty the Snowman” came on the radio next.

“YES! MY JAM!” They all heard Peter shout, though none of them saw the boy anywhere. As Peter began to sing loudly, the Avengers looked up above them to see him crawling around on the ceiling while hanging paper snowflakes that he had clearly made himself.

“Pete!” Tony called out in amusement, and the boy looked down in surprise as his face turned bright red. Peter dropped stealthily down from the ceiling and grinned awkwardly.

“Oh, hey, Guys.”

“Looks like Spiderboy’s been busy.” Sam said as he continued to survey the living room.

“Do you guys like it?” He asked hopefully as he looked at Tony.

“I personally think that the place has never looked better.” Tony responded. Peter beamed.

“I agree. You did a great job, Peter.” Bruce said. The others all nodded in agreement and the boy bounced happily.

“I made cookies too! I found a recipe online and they are actually really good! You’re probably super hungry, so let’s go eat some!”

“I will definitely take you up on that, Kid.” Clint said as he headed toward the kitchen. As the rest of them followed, Natasha put a hand on Tony’s arm.

“Tony. Aren’t all these decorations normally what you use for the entire tower?” She asked in amusement; Tony glanced tenderly in Peter’s direction.

“Don’t you dare tell him that.” Natasha smirked and made a motion as if she were zipping her lips. Tony chuckled as they went to join the others, who were already raving over Peter’s cookies. The teenager reveled in the praise from the heroes around him, and Tony put his hand on the boy’s shoulder, squeezing it gently as he tried one of the cookies.

“Did you really make these, Bud? I didn’t know you could bake.” The man asked, surprised by how delicious they were.

“I didn’t either! I think it must just be a really good recipe.”

“Please make these every weekend.” Clint said as he grabbed a second cookie. Peter grinned.

“As delicious as these cookies are, I need real food.” Sam said, and the others all nodded in agreement.

“I, for one, am too tired to do anything but eat pizza and watch a movie.” Tony said. “Sound good?” Everyone nodded in agreement, and Tony told Friday to order from their usual place before grabbing another cookie. “All right, what movie?” He asked as he looked at the others.

“Oh! Have you guys ever seen “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”?” Peter asked excitedly. “Not the one with Jim Carrey, but the **_really_** old cartoon one.”

“Oh, the **_really_** old one that was made in the 1960s?” Tony laughed as he looked at Steve and Bucky. Peter’s eyes widened when he realized what he had said, and he looked at the two super soldiers apologetically.

“I didn’t mean…uh, I mean it’s not even old at all…sorry.” Steve laughed loudly and Bucky swung his metal arm around the boy as everyone moved out to the living room.

“It’s okay, Kid…Now, I heard earlier that you have an aunt, and I’m just really shocked that we’ve never met her.”

“Barnes!” Tony shouted at the exact same moment that Steve shouted his friend’s first name.

“Geez, can’t even get an introduction to a nice dame these days…” The man muttered as he moved to sit beside his friend. Tony rolled his eyes and picked up the remote before Peter plopped down beside him. Peter snuggled up to his mentor’s side, and the man wrapped an arm around him. Peter lay his head onto Tony’s shoulder, sighing contentedly as his eyes swept the room. Everything looked magical, but more importantly, it felt magical. The teenager briefly looked at the heroes around him before turning his attention to the movie that had started. As far as Peter was concerned, this was the best “Christmas First” ever.


	2. Sunday, December 2nd

Despite Peter having stayed up late the night before, he still woke up early the next morning. The smell of coffee hit Peter’s nose and the boy perked right up, hopping out of bed and shuffling into the kitchen to see who was awake. As he stepped into the kitchen, he saw Tony sitting at the table with a mug full of coffee while Steve was mixing pancake batter at the counter nearby.

“Morning, Peter.” Steve said with a smile.

“Good mooorning!” Peter said cheerfully, and Tony chuckled.

“Someone’s happy this morning.”

“I’m always happy at Christmastime, Mr. Stark!” He said as he plopped down in a chair beside the older man. “Is that pancake batter I see you making, Captain Rogers?” Peter asked, eyeing the large mixing bowl that Steve was holding. The Captain laughed and nodded.

“It sure is. They’ll be ready in about ten minutes. You can have extra if you manage to get Mr. ‘Who needs food when I have coffee?’ to eat a pancake.” Steve smirked as Tony threw him a dirty look.

“Please eat a pancake, Mr. Stark. Please please pleeeease? I am soooo hungry this morning!” Peter really wasn’t any hungrier than he usually was, but he knew that his mentor never ate enough.

“Geez, kid. Laying it on thick much? All right, all right. I’m not about to starve a **_child_**.” He said, giving Steve another dirty look. The Captain just laughed as he turned to drop some batter onto a pan.

“Thanks, Mr. Stark! You’re the best!”

“Yeah, I know. Don’t forget that when I’m old and need someone to take care of me.”

“You’re already old.” Peter said with a cheeky grin just as Clint, Sam, and Natasha walked into the room.

“Ouch, that’s gotta hurt.” Clint said as Sam high-fived Peter.

“Ha-ha-ha. Did I miss the memo about this being ‘Let’s Roast Tony Day’?” The billionaire asked as Bucky walked in and plopped into a chair at the kitchen table.

“Damn, I missed that memo too. Don’t worry though, it won’t take me long to prepare some material.”

“Gee, thanks, Barnes.” Tony said, rolling his eyes as Bucky gave him a smug smile. Peter got up from his chair and went around to hug the older man’s shoulders from behind.

“We’re just kidding, Mr. Stark. We love you.”

“Speak for yourself, Kid.” Sam said and Peter glared at him. Tony laughed as he pat the boy’s arm.

“Don’t worry, Pete. I don’t care what these losers think. I only care what ** _real_** superheroes think.” Peter snickered and returned to his seat as the other Avengers around the table rolled their eyes. A moment later, Steve brought a large stack of pancakes over to the table and set it down.

“First stack is done. Make sure Tony gets one. He’s going to be eating today.”

“Has the world ended?” Clint asked, gasping in mock surprise.

“Nah, Cap here is threatening to withhold food from Pete if I don’t eat too.”

“Steve!” Natasha reprimanded, furrowing her brows.

“No. **No!** ” Steve said as he held up a hand. “I said Peter could have **_extra_** pancakes if he got Tony to eat one.”

“Po-tay-to po-tah-to.” Tony responded with a shrug of his shoulders. Peter giggled as he grabbed some pancakes and put them onto his plate, pouring some syrup over them before he digging into them.

* * *

After finishing breakfast and putting his plate into the sink, Peter started to skip out of the kitchen.

“Bye, guys! See you next week!”

“Underoos!”

“Huh?” Peter asked as he stopped in the doorway to look back at Tony.

“It’s 9 AM. Where are you going?”

“Home. I want to help May decorate for Christmas!”

“Oh. All right, I’ll drive you then.”

“It’s okay, Mr. Stark! You don’t have to—“

“I’m driving. Go get your stuff.” Tony said as he got up from the table and followed the boy from the kitchen. He was secretly disappointed that he had hardly spent any time with his kid that weekend, so Tony would definitely not lose any more of that time by having Happy drive him home. Within fifteen minutes, the two heroes were heading off to Peter’s apartment in one of Tony’s sports cars.

“Barely got to see you this weekend, Kid.” Tony said as he quickly glanced in Peter’s direction.

“I know.” The boy pouted unconsciously, causing Tony to smile as he looked back to the road.

“You’re still spending your Christmas break with us at the tower, right?”

“Of course, I am! It’s gonna be **_awesome_**!”

“Good, we don’t get enough time with you.” And by “we” Tony definitely meant that **_he_** did not get enough time with Peter. Peter smiled, knowing exactly what Tony meant, and he glanced over at the man beside him. 

“Um…Mr. Stark?”

“Hmm?”

“I know you’re busy and all…but would you maybe want to stay and help May and I decorate today?” Peter asked hopefully. He thought the man wanted to spend more time with him, but perhaps he was wrong.

“Do you think May would mind?” Tony asked softly, which made Peter grin.

“She definitely won’t mind.”

Tony ended up spending the entire day with Peter and May. The three of them laughed and sang as they hung lights and garland before arranging other decorations around the apartment. They saved the Christmas tree for last, and May disappeared to make hot cocoa as the boys set up the tree. Once put into place and wrapped with lights, Tony stepped back to admire the tree, and Peter watched him happily before grabbing a Santa hat from a nearby box. He put it onto his head before he grabbed two reindeer headbands. Bouncing up to Tony, Peter slipped one of the reindeer headbands onto Tony’s head.

“Ho ho ho!”

“What’s this?” Tony asked with a laugh as he reached up to feel what was on his head.

“You’ve been promoted to one of Santa’s reindeer!”

“What kind of promotion is that?” Tony asked incredulously.

“You only have to work one night a year and everyone loves you!”

“Fair enough.” Tony said after a moment of consideration. As Peter picked up a strand of garland, May entered with a tray of hot chocolate, causing him to drop the garland in excitement.

“COCOA!”

“Peter, it’s hot!” May warned. Tony laughed loudly as he bent down to pick up the garland. When he stood up, the man draped the garland over May. The woman grinned as she tossed an end of it over her shoulder as if the garland were a scarf. Peter giggled at the adults’ antics, moving to put the second reindeer headband onto May.

“Congrats on the promotion!” Tony teased, causing the other two to laugh.

“C’mon, let’s decorate!” Peter said as he picked up an ornament and put it onto the tree. As “Jingle Bell Rock” started playing on the radio, the young hero started dancing while May and Tony sang a duet together. The three danced, sang, and drank their hot chocolate as they decorated the tree. When it was finished, Peter set down his mug and grabbed his phone.

“Selfie with the tree!” He insisted, and the two adults did not protest, both of them moving to either side of Peter. The boy quickly snapped a picture of them, rainbow lights and ornaments glowing in the background.

“Uh, guys, I don’t want to alarm you, but this might be the best picture **_ever_**.” The teenager said dramatically.

“Does that surprise you? Three gorgeous people with a beautiful Christmas tree in the background would definitely be grounds for one of the best pictures ever.” Tony said as May rolled her eyes. Peter laughed and started to shove his phone back into his pocket when Tony cleared his throat.

“What?” Peter asked in confusion.

“Aren’t you going to send that to me?” Tony asked indignantly which made Peter laugh.

“I was going to keep it all for myself, but **_I guess_** I can share it with you.” The teenager said as he took his phone back out of his pocket to send the picture to Tony. Once Tony got it, he grinned down at it for a moment. He was definitely going to change his lock screen later that evening. Suddenly, Tony noticed the time, his eyes widening in surprise.

“It’s already after five?” He asked, wondering if something was wrong with his phone.

“You know what they say, Mr. Stark: Time flies when you’re having fun!”

“I guess that’s true.” Tony agreed with a chuckle. “I’m supposed to meet Rhodey for dinner tonight, so I’d better head out.”

“Aww…” Peter pouted, and Tony seriously considered canceling on his friend before Peter spoke up again. “Okay, Mr. Stark.” Peter said before rushing forward to give the man a big hug. Tony had grown accustomed to Peter’s sudden displays of affection, and he did not hesitate to wrap the boy up in a tight embrace.

“Thanks for having me over, Pete. I needed a day like today.” The man said before pulling away.

“Mr. Stark, you can come over any time you want. You’ll always be welcome. Right, Aunt May?” Peter asked and May smiled warmly.

“He’s right, Tony. Don’t hesitate to drop by if you’re ever having a bad day, okay?” Tony nodded sheepishly before clearing his throat, his signature smile returning suddenly as if it had never faltered.

“Bye, guys. I’ll see you soon.” Tony said as he headed out of the apartment. As he walked outside, Tony opened his phone to look at the selfie the three had taken a few minutes ago. A large grin spread across the man’s face as he stepped into his car. Thanks to Peter, Tony felt in the Christmas spirit for the first time in decades.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I live for IronDad, and I can't wait to get to the real fluff. uwu


	3. Monday, December 3rd

Peter charged down the halls of Midtown High, sliding up to Ned’s locker in a panic.

“Hey, Peter! What’s—“

“Dude, I’m **_freaking_** out.”

“Why, what happened?” Ned asked, his eyes widening comically before he glanced around and cautiously lowered his voice. “Is this about Spiderman?”

“No—well, kinda…Ned…it’s Christmastime!”

“Uh, yeah…it comes every December…I don’t get why you’re freaking out. You live for Christmas.”

“Yeah, but I have to get the Avengers Christmas presents!” Peter hissed under his breath. “What can I get the coolest superheroes who already have everything?!”

“Oh man…I didn’t even think about that!” Ned said as he began to share his friend’s panic.

“They are like my family, and Mr. Stark is kinda like my dad and like, I can’t get them anything lame!” To both boys’ surprise, the bell rang, and the two of them glanced around the now-empty hallway. They turned in unison, bolting toward their first-period history class. The teacher gave the boys a disapproving look as they walked into class late and headed to their seats. A few moments after they sat down, Ned leaned over to whisper to his friend.

“Don’t worry, Peter. I’ll help you think of something really good.” Peter smiled at Ned and turned his attention back to the textbook before their teacher noticed them talking. He was still worried, but he felt a little bit better knowing that Ned had his back.

* * *

“Sooo…I still don’t have any ideas about gifts, but I’m **_definitely_** not done brainstorming.” Ned said as he set his lunch tray down onto the table across from Peter.

“I know…I can’t think of a single good thing to get any of them.” Peter replied as he picked at his food.

“What are you losers talking about?” MJ asked as she dropped her tray onto the table and sat down beside Peter.

“Peter doesn’t know what to get his family for Christmas.”

“I thought it was just you and your aunt?” Peter quickly glared at Ned, who shot his friend an apologetic look.

“Well…they are like my family, but not by blood.”

“Oh. Well, what’s the problem then? Don’t you know them well enough to pick out gifts?”

“I know them really well! It’s just…they have everything. Literally. Like, even if they don’t have something they could just go buy it anytime.”

“Uh…okay, then get them stuff they can’t just go out and buy at any old store.” The girl said, looking at the two boys as if they were idiots. Peter and Ned exchanged a confused look before turning back to their friend.

“Uh…what do you mean?” Ned asked, causing MJ to shake her head and sigh.

“I’m talking about homemade gifts…you know, D.I.Y.’

“But isn’t that kinda lame?” Peter asked and MJ rolled her eyes.

“Uh, no. Not if you think about what they really like and make them something they will really love and use. Gifts that come from the heart show that you care.” Peter considered this for a few moments.

“Maybe you’re right.”

“Of course I am. Sometimes I wonder how you guys got into this school.” MJ offered a smug smile before changing the topic, asking Peter and Ned if they had prepared for the Academic Decathlon practice later that afternoon.

After lunch, the rest of the day flew by, and Peter used every spare moment to think of presents he could make for the Avengers. By the time he and Ned were heading back to his apartment for dinner, Peter had gift ideas for just about everyone.

“Okay, so I’m going to tell you my ideas, and you tell me if they’re lame or not. You have to be honest, Ned. Remember, these presents are for the Avengers.”

“Got it.” Ned said seriously. “Tell me your ideas. I’m dying to hear them.”

“Okay, so for Captain Rogers… he likes to draw. So I thought I could make him a leather sketchbook. It doesn’t look hard, but it looks really cool, and I think he would like it a lot! See?” Peter said as he pulled up a photo of the project and handed Ned his phone.

“Dude…Pinterest?” Ned asked with a raised eyebrow, and Peter snatched his phone away.

“Listen, there are a lot of good ideas on here, okay? Signing up for Pinterest is totally worth it if I can impress everyone with my gifts.”

“I guess that’s true.” Ned said with a shrug. “That sketchbook looks awesome, anyway. What else do you have?”

“Well,” Peter started with a grin, “Sergeant Barnes is obsessed with warm, fuzzy things, so—“

“ ** _Really?_ ”**

“Yeah, man. He’s so muscular and scary looking, but he’s actually so soft.” Peter said with a laugh before narrowing his eyes at Ned. “…But don’t you ever tell him I said that because he would probably murder me.” Ned nodded quickly and Peter continued. “But like, he always has a blanket because his sweaters fall apart. It’s hard for him to fit them over his metal arm, so he always rips the sleeve off...but after a few wears it unravels too much. So, I’m going to buy him the softest sweater I can find and then remove the sleeve the right way. I found a tutorial. It looks a little tricky, but I know May could help me if I get stuck. And Dr. Banner is so stressed out all the time, so I thought I could make him one of those eye masks that you heat up and it has lavender inside to make you really calm and stuff, and—" Peter began to list off all of his ideas excitedly, Ned listening carefully.

“Dude, all of those sound so cool. They are going to love them! …But, what about for Mr. Stark?” Peter’s shoulders slumped at the mention of his mentor.

“That’s the problem. His has to be the best. Like… I know Mr. Stark would pretend to like anything I gave him, but I want him to _**really**_ love it. I haven’t thought of the perfect thing yet.” He said dejectedly, and Ned nodded as he patted his friend on the shoulder.

“You still have three weeks ‘til Christmas. You’ll think of something.” Ned said encouragingly. Peter closed the Pinterest app on his phone and stared at his wallpaper—the selfie that he, Tony, and May had taken the night before. Peter sure hoped that Ned was right; in his opinion, Mr. Stark deserved the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know we're only three days into the month, but I hope you guys are enjoying it so far. :)


	4. Tuesday, December 4th

It was just before lunch, and Peter found himself having difficulty paying attention in his chemistry class. He had gone through a million and one different ideas, but he still could not think of the perfect present for his mentor. Peter groaned softly, dropping his head to his desk in frustration. Flash leaned over to jab Peter in the side with his pencil.

“Too hard for you, Penis?” The boy asked with a smirk, causing Peter to roll his eyes and turn his head in the opposite direction. Peter sighed deeply as his gaze fell upon the classroom window, his eyes widening as he suddenly sat up and gasped.

“It’s snowing!” He said in excitement, momentarily forgetting that he was in the middle of a class. Flash rolled his eyes while a few girls giggled, but most of the other students turned to look out the window— seemingly just as excited about the weather as Peter was.

“An excellent observation, Mr. Parker.” The teacher said, clearly amused by the teenager’s childlike excitement over the snow. “Would you mind if we return to our lesson now?”

“Sorry.” Peter apologized quickly, cheeks flushing as he dropped his eyes back to his desk. He ignored Flash’s whisper of how lame he was and tried to focus on the lesson. However, he found it even more difficult to focus as he was preoccupied not only with what to give Tony for Christmas but also with the sparkling snowflakes swirling outside the window.

* * *

The moment school had ended, Peter said a cheery goodbye to Ned and raced home; excited to go out as Spiderman and spread some Christmas cheer to Queens. After returning to his apartment and suiting up, the young hero climbed out of his window and began to swing through the snowy city, humming Christmas Carols as he went. Peter ended up helping two elderly ladies cross the icy streets before finding a tiny, shivering puppy that was definitely someone’s pet. Once he managed to get a hold of the small dog, he found the address on its collar and took the puppy home to a grateful family. Peter, pleased at having such a successful night, stopped to rest briefly on top of a nearby building. He had hardly sat down before he heard a woman’s scream nearby. As Peter looked over the edge of the building, he saw a large man running away from a screaming woman, a baby in his arms. The boy’s jaw dropped in surprise and he quickly swung down past the man, grabbing the small child from his arms. The man swore loudly as Peter landed on the ground a short distance away from him.

“Oh gosh, I’ve never held a baby before. I’m sorry if I’m hurting you. Please don’t cry.” Peter said as the child screamed in his arms. The man charged in the direction of the young hero, and Peter jumped out of the way quickly, just missing the man’s blow.

“Wow, this is totally unfair, Dude! How am I supposed to fight you with such a fragile little human in my arms?” Peter asked as he continued to dart and weave, quickly assessing the way the man moved. His opponent must have been doing the same, because he suddenly pulled out a knife, faking Peter out as he stabbed the boy’s side. The man seemed perplexed that the knife did not immediately cut through the boy’s suit, but the blow had stunned Peter enough for the man to attempt it a second time.

“Are you crazy, man? Stop waving that knife around! I’M HOLDING A BABY!”

“Then give the kid to me.”

“Oh, sure. Let me just hand this baby over to a psycho like you. Sounds like a ** _great_** plan.” Peter replied sarcastically as the man lunged at him again. The young hero shifted the baby to be held in his left arm, intending to use the web shooter on his right hand to apprehend his opponent. However, the baby’s mother caught up to them, screaming in terror at the scene, which caused Peter to lose focus as he glanced in her direction. The man stabbed Peter a third time, trying to grab the baby from his arms.

“Crap, she called the cops!” Peter shouted, attempting to distract the man. His rival looked around in alarm, giving Peter just enough time to web the man’s knife-wielding arm to the brick wall behind him. As the man tried to tug his arm free, Peter grabbed the baby and webbed his other arm and both legs to the wall as well. The moment the other man was detained, the baby’s mother ran up to Peter, pulling her child from his arms.

“Oh thank you, Spiderman. You saved my son!” She said, tears streaming down her face.

“It’s all in a day’s work, Ma’am. Now, I need to call the police so—“

“I called them already. They should be here soon.” The woman said through her tears, and Peter nodded, waiting with her as he kept an eye on the man. The moment the police arrived, Peter shot a web, launching himself away from the scene before he could be questioned. The boy swung a few buildings away before stopping in an alley to assess the damages done to his suit.

“I think I’m okay, right, Karen? What about the suit?”

“Yes, Peter. You have slight bruising that should heal within a few hours. However, your suit did suffer minor damages. It seems that one of the wires was severed and your heating system is no longer working.”

“What a relief.” Peter said, truly more worried about his suit than his own well-being. “The heating system shouldn’t be too difficult to fix. Maybe I’ll go to Mr. Stark’s lab tomorrow. But if it’s just the heating, I can still patrol for a while.” The boy said excitedly, and he shot a web up to the side of a building before he continued on patrol. After about ten minutes, Peter began to feel cold but he ignored it, deciding he could handle another hour or two before having to return home. Another five minutes passed, and as Peter was mid-swing off the side of a building, he felt someone’s arms around his back. The teenager flailed in surprise, ready to fight when he realized he was in the arms of Iron Man.

“Mr. Stark?!” Peter asked in surprise.

“Time for cold little Spiderkids to go home.” Tony responded, and Peter groaned as he realized that the man was flying him back to his apartment.

“Aw, c’mon, Karen! You tattled?” Peter whined. “I wasn’t even hurt.”

“I’m sorry, Peter, but I’m required to alert Friday of any harm that comes to your suit—even if it is not serious.” Peter huffed but didn’t say anything else as Tony dropped him onto the roof of his apartment building and landed beside him.

“Mr. Stark, I’m not even that cold! I’m okay!” Peter said as he pulled off his mask. Tony pressed the arc reactor on his chest, and his Iron Man suit slowly disappeared. Peter couldn’t help but watch it in amazement; no matter how many times he had seen it, the nano-tech was still awesome.

“Kid, you were heading in the opposite direction of this place. Which means you weren’t on your way home. Which means eventually you would have gotten too cold. Plus, I want to take a look at your side. Someone tried to stab you?” His mentor didn’t even try to hide the worry in his eyes, and Peter felt his anger slowly melt away.

“But the suit kept me safe. I’m okay, Mr. Stark. I promise.”

“Yeah, I’m definitely not going to get any sleep tonight if I don’t see that for myself. Inside.” Peter sighed as Tony followed him down the stairs and into the empty apartment. The man sat onto the couch as Peter went into his room and quickly took off the Spiderman suit before donning his pajamas. The boy returned to the living room, holding up his shirt to reveal his bruised side.

“See? Just a bruise. Karen said it’ll heal in a few hours.” Tony frowned and stood up, moving to the boy as he reached out to gingerly touch the bruise. Peter winced slightly, and Tony narrowed his eyes at the boy suspiciously.

“You **_are_** hurt.”

“You just touched the bruise, of course it hurt. You’re totally overreacting! Besides, Karen’s an AI and she said I’m fine.”

“AI’s can be wrong.”

“But **_you_** made her!”

“Even I can make mistakes, Kid. You can never be too careful…” The man straightened back up and went to the kitchen, pulling a frozen bag of peas from the freezer before tossing it to the teenager. “Here, put this on your bruise for a while.” Tony said, and Peter sighed but did as he was told. The boy watched as the older man went into his room, coming out a moment later with the Spiderman suit in hand.

“What?! Mr. Stark, no! You can’t! It wasn’t a big deal!” Peter protested, clearly upset. Tony looked at the boy in surprise before moving closer and reaching out to squeeze his shoulder.

“Pete, calm down. I’m not taking it away; I’m just going to fix it for you.”

“Oh…” Peter said sheepishly. Tony reached out to ruffle the boy’s hair. “I’m going to head out because you need to do your homework and then go to bed early so that bruise is gone by morning. Yeah?”

“Yes, Sir…” Peter mumbled as he shifted the cold bag on his side. Tony suddenly reached out with his free arm, pulling the boy in for a hug. Peter’s eyes widened in surprise, but he didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms tightly around his mentor. Even though Peter unintentionally rested the frozen peas on the man’s back, Tony held the boy for a few moments before pulling away.

“Don’t scare me like that again. I’m not young anymore—my heart can’t take it.”

“I know.” Peter said with a snarky grin.

“Watch it, Kid.” Tony warned, though a smirk played at the corner of his lips. “Now be a good little Spiderman and do your homework and sleep early, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. I will.” Peter said as Tony nodded in approval. He watched the older man leave the apartment as he sat down, a big smile spreading across his face.

_“I think I finally know what to get Mr. Stark for Christmas.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who is following this fic. :)


	5. Wednesday, December 5th

Academic Decathlon practice had just ended for the day, and Peter ran outside. He scooped up a handful of snow, packing it into a ball before he turned to chuck it at Ned.

“You’re dead!” Ned said with a laugh after the snowball hit him in the chest. Peter grinned as he grabbed more snow, running to hide behind a tree as a snowball whizzed past his head.

“What are you guys? Five?” Flash asked as he stopped on the sidewalk to mock the boys. Peter and Ned turned just in time to see a snowball hit the bully squarely on the back of the head. Flash swore loudly and turned to see MJ leaning against the side of the school, a smug smile on her lips.

“What are you? A grumpy old man?” The girl asked. Peter and Ned both struggled to keep from laughing aloud.

“Whatever.” Flash said, rolling his eyes as he walked away. The boys watched him for a moment before turning back to MJ, just in time to see her scooping up a big handful of snow.

“Look out!” Peter shouted as he dove back behind the cover of the tree, staying just long enough to form a few balls of snow. He hopped out and rejoined the fight, laughing happily with his friends as they battled in the snow.

“I am ** _freezing_**!” Peter exclaimed as he took off his gloves, blowing on his hands in a feeble attempt to warm them. The three teens had gotten slightly carried away with their fun, having spent nearly an hour outside the school slinging snowballs at one another.

“Me too!” Ned said in agreement.

“You guys are weak.” The girl teased.

“Uh…MJ, you’re definitely just as cold as we are.” Ned pointed out. Peter laughed as MJ blew her wet bangs from her face with a huff.

“I mean, I guess I am a **_little_** cold.”

“Dude, let’s go to my house! May said she’d be home early today.”

“Yeeeessss!” Ned said as he quickly grabbed his backpack from its resting place on the sidewalk.

“Why is he so excited?”

“My aunt makes the best hot cocoa ever. Wanna come?” Peter asked. MJ seemed surprised by the invitation, but after a brief pause, she shrugged her shoulders.

“Sure. I guess I could come for a little bit.”

“Great!” Peter said, grabbing the remaining two bags from the pavement and handing the girl her bag before shouldering his own. “Let’s go!” Peter led his friends to his nearby apartment, shouting a greeting as he opened the front door.

“May, I’m home!”

“Hey, Sweetie.” She said, turning her attention from the TV to see Peter and his friends standing in the doorway with wet coats and red cheeks.

“Cocoa?” She asked with a knowing smile, and the boys’ faces lit up as they nodded quickly. May laughed softly as she stood up.

“Hey, Ned.” May said as she greeted the boy who smiled as he peeled off his wet coat.

“Hi, May!” The woman glanced at MJ before looking at her nephew.

“Peter, aren’t you going to introduce us?”

“Oh! Sorry! May, this is MJ. MJ, this is my Aunt May.” Peter said as he kicked off his boots.

“It’s nice to meet you, MJ. I assume you like hot chocolate?”

“Yes, Ma’am. If it’s not too much trouble.”

“Not at all…and please call me May.”

“Thanks, May.” MJ said with a soft smile before moving to join Peter and Ned, who had already made themselves comfortable on the couch.

“May, what’re you watching?” Peter asked as he glanced at the commercial playing on the television’s screen.

“Oh, I was just channel surfing. You guys can put on anything.”

“Okay, thanks!” After some deliberation, the teens decided on an old Christmas special. They had only been watching it for a few minutes when there was a knock on the door.

“I’ll get it!” Peter said, assuming it was just the landlord or a neighbor. However, when he opened the door, his eyes widened as he saw his mentor standing in the hallway.

“Hey, Kiddo.” Tony said, ruffling the boy’s hair as he stepped inside the apartment.

“Mr. Stark! What’re you doing here?” Peter asked with an excited smile. Before the man could answer, May peeked her head out of the kitchen.

“Peter, who’s at the—Oh! Hi, Tony. I’m actually making hot cocoa right now. You interested?”

“Your cocoa? Always.” The man said as he stepped towards the kitchen to give May a friendly kiss on the cheek. Actually, I just swung by to drop off your su—“

“Hi, Mr. Stark!” Ned interrupted quickly, causing Tony turned in surprise as he had not noticed the two other teens in the living room.

“Hey, Ned.” Tony glanced at MJ before looking back at Peter, a smirk forming on his lips.

“Pete, who’s this?” He asked, raising his eyebrows. Peter glared at him.

“This is my **_friend,_** MJ.”

“Hi, Sweetheart. Nice to meet you.” Tony said with a warm smile.

“Yeah…I’m not your sweetheart, but I guess it’s nice to meet you too.” Tony looked at the girl in surprise, not used to young females of the general population having such a cold reaction upon meeting him. By the look on the boys’ faces, they were also clearly surprised that their friend would speak that way to **_the_** Tony Stark. After regaining his composure, Tony chuckled.

“Fair enough. It’s nice to meet you, **_MJ_**.” Tony said as he patted Peter on the shoulder. “I like her.” MJ seemed somewhat impressed with the man’s reaction to her and raised an eyebrow.

“So, what are you doing here?” She asked as she tilted her head to the side. “I thought Peter was just an intern at Stark Industries.” Peter panicked, exchanging a worried look with Ned.

“ ** _Just_** an intern?” Tony asked, seemingly unfazed by the girl’s dangerous question. “Pete, you’re too modest!” He said as he slung an arm around the boy. “Your friend here is my personal intern. His responsibilities are far beyond that of a regular intern’s. Speaking of which…” Tony handed Peter the bag containing his Spiderman suit. “Here, Kid. This is some stuff I need you to work on before the weekend. Now go run along and put it in your room. It’s not that I don’t trust your friends, but this is in relation to that thing we’re working on that won’t be released until next year so…” Peter and Ned both stared at the man in awe, wondering how he managed to stay so calm as he told his lie without skipping a beat.

“Okay, Mr. Stark!” Peter said as he rushed from the room, carrying the bag with him. The boy was only gone a moment, but he frowned when he returned and did not see Tony anywhere.

“Where’s Mr. Stark?”

“He went to help May with the cocoa.” Ned said before grabbing his friend’s shirt and pulling him gently. “Sit down. ‘Rudolph’ ended and ‘The Year Without a Santa Claus’ is starting!” Peter plopped down between his friends, so focused on the Christmas special that he didn’t notice MJ carefully assessing him from the side.

“Who wants cocoa and cookies?” May asked a few minutes later as she and Tony brought out mugs of hot chocolate and sugar cookies. The teens quickly expressed their appreciation before turning their attention back to the TV while May and Tony settled onto the nearby loveseat with their own mugs of hot cocoa. Peter sipped on his warm drink, smiling happily to himself before he glanced around the room. Everyone he loved looked so cozy and content. A wide smile settled on his lips as he turned his eyes back to the old Christmas special, his heart filled with happiness.

Once the special had ended and all of the hot chocolate was gone, Ned stood up and stretched.

“I better go, or I’ll be late for dinner. Thanks for the cocoa, May.”

“You’re welcome, Sweetie. Be careful on your way home, okay?”

“I will!”

“I’d better go too. Thank you for having me, May.” MJ said politely, and the woman smiled warmly at her  


“You’re welcome here any time. Do you live far?” May asked worriedly and the girl shook her head.

“No, I’m pretty close. I’ll be fine.”

“See ya tomorrow, Peter! Bye, Mr. Stark!” Ned called from the front door.

“Bye, Kid.” Tony said before nodding at the girl. “Goodbye, MJ.”

“Bye, Mr. Stark. Bye, Peter.” She said as she grabbed her backpack. Tony stood up, adjusting his blazer as he glanced toward Peter’s friends.

“Leave the door open, Kids. I’ll be going too.”

“Okay!” Ned called cheerily before the two teenagers exited the apartment.

“Aww, Mr. Stark, do you have to go?” Peter whined. Tony raised an eyebrow, turning to May.

“Please tell your nephew that I do have to go. I just can’t bear to say no to this.” Tony said as he waved his hand in front of the half-asleep teenager wrapped up in a fuzzy blanket. May laughed.

“Stop being cute, Peter. It’s not going to work tonight.” She teased, the boy huffing slightly as he stood up.

“All right, all right. I’ll walk ya out, Mr. Stark.”

“That’s better.” Tony said with a chuckle as he put his arm around the boy. “I’ll see you later, May.”

“All right, get home safely.” Tony smiled as headed to the front door, Peter following right behind him. The man had his hand on the knob of the slightly open door when he turned to see May disappear into the kitchen.

“Pete, how’s that bruise?” Tony asked softly.

“It’s all gone just like Karen said it would be.”

“It doesn’t hurt?”

“Nope!”

“Good. All right, Kid. Have a good night.”

“Wait!” Tony turned, looking at the boy expectantly.

“I require a hug before you leave.” The man laughed and rolled his eyes, though he did not hesitate to oblige the boy’s request. Peter hugged his mentor tightly for a moment before pulling away. “Yep, I feel much better now.”

“I’m so glad.” Tony said with an amused smile. “Happy will pick you up after school on Friday.” Tony said, turning just a moment too late to miss seeing a girl quickly exit the hallway.

“Okay, bye!” As Peter shut the front door and turned to head towards the kitchen, he saw a purple scarf hanging on the hook in the entryway.

_“Oh, MJ left her scarf here. I’ll have to remember to take that to her tomorrow.”_ Peter thought as he went to go help May prepare dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh. Things are starting to get interesting.


	6. Thursday, December 6th

“Hey, MJ!” Peter called as he walked up to his friend. “You forgot your scarf at my house last night. I’m surprised you didn’t notice. It was cold!” He said as he held the scarf out to the girl.

“Oh…yeah. Thanks. Must’ve been so tired I didn’t even realize.” She said as she took the scarf, tossing it into her locker before slamming the door shut. She stopped for a moment, looking Peter up and down as if she were assessing him.

“Um…something wrong?” Peter asked, giving MJ a quizzical look.

“Nope. Nothing. Bell’s about to ring. See ya later, Loser.” She said as she walked off towards her first-period class. Peter frowned as he watched her walk away, turning to head to his own class once he caught sight of Ned.

By lunchtime, Peter had completely forgotten his friend’s unusual behavior earlier that morning. After getting his food, Peter went to his regular table and sat down across from MJ who was already there.

“What’s up?” He asked as he threw a tater tot into his mouth.

“Not much.” The girl said with a shrug as she glanced up from her book, closing it just as Ned joined them.

“Is it Friday yet?” Peter laughed at Ned’s question before answering.

“Just one more day. Luckily. The cold makes it so hard to wake up in the morning.”

“I know, right? Hey, you wanna hang out this weekend?”

“I don’t think I can. I didn’t see Mr. Stark much last weekend, so…” Peter glanced at MJ, noticing she had begun to gaze at him intensely. “I mean, you know that thing he brought me last night? Well, it’s going to be a lot of work. I’m his personal intern so I’ll probably be busy helping him most of this weekend.”

“ _Ooohh,_ okay.” Ned said knowingly. Peter tried not to roll his eyes.

“How do you have time to be Tony Stark’s personal intern and do everything else you do? I would think Mr. Stark would expect a lot from an intern.” MJ inquired. Peter shrugged, trying to seem as unfazed by the question as he knew Tony would be.

“Well, he knows I’m in school. You know, he makes exceptions. He’s pretty cool.” Peter said, trying to sound casual.

“Hmm. That’s nice of him. He’s not much like I expected.”

“Yeah, he’s way more awesome in person, right?” Peter asked, and Ned nodded in agreement before changing the subject, suddenly remembering to tell Peter about the new Fallout cheat he had discovered late the night before. The two boys chattered happily about everything from video games to their Spanish quiz, but the girl did not say a word. By the end of lunch, Peter found himself happy to return to class, slightly unnerved by MJ’s silent stares in his direction 

* * *

“May, am I doing this right?” Peter asked as he held out his project for the woman to look at. His aunt finished putting a pan into the oven before dropping her pot holder onto the counter. She walked over to Peter who was holding a very soft sweater and a seam ripper in his hands. May looked carefully before pointing at the seam of the sweater.

“You’ve done it right so far. Just make sure to only rip this line of stitches; one stitch to the left or right and you’ll ruin the sweater.” Peter nodded seriously and bit his bottom lip, deep in concentration as he worked on his Christmas present for Sergeant Barnes. He worked slowly, but steadily, and within ten minutes he had the sleeve off of the sweater.

“Perfect, right? Now I just need to hem it like this tutorial shows.” He said, and May smiled as she softly rubbed the boy’s back.

“They’re going to love these, Peter.” The woman removed her hand from his back, leaning to gently touching the recently painted teacup and saucer on the counter beside her. “This is dry. Do you want me to seal it for you?”

“Yes, please!” The boy said, carefully glancing between the tutorial on his phone and the sweater he was holding.

“Now, who’s this one for?”

“That’s for Mr. Loki. He always drinks tea.”

“And the sweater is for Bucky Barnes?”

“Mhmm.” Peter hummed, tongue sticking out in concentration.

“I still can’t believe he and Steve Rogers are alive. I remember learning about them in my history class when I was your age.” The woman said as she carefully began to apply sealant to the teacup that Peter had painted.

“Yeah, it’s weird if you think about it. But if you spend a lot of time with them, you kinda forget.” Peter laughed a little before going silent. He didn’t say anything for several moments before he stopped his work and turned to his aunt, looking at her curiously.

“May, do you think MJ got suspicious of me last night?”

“I don’t think so. Tony seemed to handle it beautifully. Why?”

“Oh, I dunno. She was just acting kind of strange today.”

“Strange how?”

“Well, she kept looking at me weird.” May raised an eyebrow.

“Do you think she might have a crush on you?”

“ ** _What? No!_** ” The boy denied vehemently, his cheeks flushing slightly at the thought. “It’s just…she kept looking at me as if she were suspicious of me. And she was more quiet than usual too. At lunch, Ned and I just talked and she just…kept watching me. It was weird.”

“Isn’t it more likely for her to have a crush on you than for her to suspect that you’re Spiderman?”

“Well…maybe. I don’t know. But she definitely does **_not_** have a crush on me. She was suspicious when Mr. Stark first came here. MJ seemed to believe his explanation though. I don’t know why she was acting so weird today… but what if she finds out my secret and tells everyone? I don’t want everyone to know that I’m Spiderman. Not now, May.”

“Peter, I doubt she believes that you’re Spiderman. Even if MJ does find out, she’s your friend, right? She seems like a nice girl. I think she could keep it a secret.”

“…I guess you’re right. I don’t think she would tell either.” Peter said after a moment of thought.

“See? Nothing to worry about then.” May said as she finished sealing the teacup and saucer. She glanced around at all of the half-finished presents scattered around the kitchen.

“Peter, aren’t you forgetting a gift?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we’ve been working on all of these presents, but I don’t see one for Tony.”

“I’m going to make his last. I want to do Mr. Stark’s all by myself without any help.” Peter said as he returned to hemming the sweater on his lap. May smiled fondly at her nephew before turning to check on their dinner.

“Well, I’m sure whatever it is that you make him, he will love it.”

“You think so?” Peter asked hopefully as he glanced up at his aunt.

“Trust me, Honey. Tony would be happy with anything you give him. Don’t worry too much about it, okay?” Peter nodded a bit as he continued working on the other gifts, hoping very much that May was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know when you just having a pretty boring day every once in a while? That was Peter's Thursday. Don't you worry though, Peter will have a more interesting day tomorrow. ;)


	7. Friday, December 7th

“That Spanish quiz yesterday was rough.” Ned said as he crumpled up his napkin and dropped it onto his lunch tray.

“I know, right? I am not looking forward to getting my score back today.” Peter said, shaking his head slightly before he perked up. “At least it’s Friday though!”

“Only…” Ned glanced down at his phone. “Three and a half more hours until the weekend. You going straight to the tower?”

“Yeah, Mr. Stark said Happy is gonna pick me up like he usually does. Everyone’s always tired on Fridays so we’ll probably watch a movie or something. ”

“You get to have so many movie nights with the Avengers…Like, Dude…what is your life?”

“A Lie.” Flash said as he walked up behind the boys. “You really think Penis Parker is going to spend the weekend with Tony Stark and the Avengers?”

“I mean…yeah?” Ned said, looking at Flash as if he didn’t know what he was talking about—which he didn’t.

“Wow, you’re so gullible. I doubt he even has an internship at Stark Industries. That’s probably a lie too.”

“Uh, no it’s not.” Ned said, irritation in his voice.

“Just ignore him, Ned.” Peter said as he stood up, taking his tray of trash and heading towards a garbage can.

“Yeah, because you don’t want your **_only_** friend to find out that you’re a liar.” Flash said with a laugh as he moved up beside Peter, bumping into him hard enough for the trash to fall off of his tray. Peter stopped for a moment to take a deep breath before he stooped down to pick up the empty paper plate and napkin that had fallen to the floor. “Not saying anything because you know it’s true?”

“I’m not saying anything because I have better things to do than waste my time on your stupidity.” Peter said calmly as he straightened up, though his knuckles were turning white from gripping his tray so tightly. Flash was taken aback by the comment, but when he realized half of the cafeteria was watching them, the boy decided that he couldn’t let Peter’s comment slide.

“Says the kid who made up a fake internship at Stark Industries. And as if that wasn’t enough, you pretend you’re super close with Iron Man himself. Like geez, Penis, we can all see you have major daddy issues, but at least make up a lie that’s believable.” Peter sucked in a sharp breath before he finished his walk to the garbage, deposited the trash inside, and set his tray on top of the bin.

_“You’re way stronger than he is. You can’t beat him up. It wouldn’t be fair.”_ Peter told himself as he turned back around to face the bully. “Whatever you say, Flash.” He shrugged casually as he started to walk past the other boy. Flash grabbed him by the hood and pulled him back, not about to let the rest of the school see him lose a fight against Peter.

“Admit it, Parker. You’re making it all up.”

“I’m not.”

“Dude, Peter just call Mr. Stark—“ Ned started to say, but Peter cut him off with a scowl before quickly shaking his head.

“Yeah, Ned. He can’t just call Mr. Stark. Tony Stark wouldn’t be caught dead with a loser like him, and he knows it.” Peter knew that the bully’s words were the furthest thing from the truth, but somehow, just the thought of Tony seeing him as a loser cut him deeply. Flash smirked as he saw the boy’s stoic façade waver and he decided to deal the final blow that he believed would win him the fight. “Face it, Penis. The only way you’d get within a hundred feet of Tony Stark is if your hot aunt—“ Peter didn’t know what the boy was going to say and he didn’t want to know. The moment May was brought into it, Peter lost all rational thinking, his fist slamming roughly into Flash’s jaw. A loud gasp arose from the on-looking students, and Flash wasted no time in landing a punch to Peter’s right eye. The young hero wanted nothing more than to fight back, but he knew that he would end up hurting Flash badly if he did. Blocking the boy’s swings half-heartedly, the teen let his bully use him as a punching bag for nearly two minutes before a few teachers came to pull the boys apart. The teachers scolded the other students as the bell rang, ordering them to get to their classes before dragging Flash and Peter to the Principal’s office.

* * *

Peter and Flash had been sitting in Principal Morita’s office for twenty minutes before Flash’s father walked in, shooting an angry look in his son’s direction before he greeted he Principal. Peter swallowed hard as he fiddled with the sleeves of his hoodie. His stomach was shaking and he felt nauseous. Peter hated being in trouble.

“Um… Principal Morita? My Aunt’s a nurse and so she can’t always answer her phone or leave the hospital. Uh…I don’t even know if she’s coming.” Peter said nervously, wondering if he would be in even more trouble without his guardian present.

“Don’t worry about that, Peter. We were unable to reach your aunt, but your other emergency contact should be here shortly.” Peter blinked a few times. May had filled out his information at the beginning of the school year, but who else would his aunt have listed as an emergency contact? One of their neighbors? Peter bit his lip nervously until his sensitive hearing picked up a soft gasp from the receptionist as he heard her buzz somebody into the school. He strained to hear something else, but all was silent. A few moments later, he heard the door to the school’s office open, and an extremely familiar voice ask where the principal’s office was. Peter’s heart dropped and the boy squeezed his eyes shut, silently praying that May hadn’t put Tony Stark as his other emergency contact. The last thing he needed right now was for Tony to be angry with him.

A moment later, the door opened, and sure enough, Tony Stark entered the principal’s office. Flash’s jaw just about fell to the floor, his father looking almost as surprised. Though the principal was the one who had called the man, even he seemed a bit stunned to see Tony Stark standing in his office. However, he masked it well.

“Mr. Stark, thank you for joining us.” Tony gave the man a quick nod of acknowledgment before turning his back to the others, removing his sunglasses as he looked down at Peter. The boy fidgeted nervously, avoiding eye contact with his mentor until he felt Tony gently place a finger under his chin. As the man tilted his face up, Peter finally looked at him. To the boy’s surprise, Tony’s eyes were filled with concern as he examined the black eye on his face. Tony affectionately ran his thumb over Peter’s cheek before pulling away and turning to look at Flash. Peter was shocked when he noticed that the softness in his mentor’s eyes was gone—the man now looked terrifying.

“You did this to Peter?”

“Mr. Stark—“ Principal Morita began, but he was cut off as Tony put up a hand to silence him.

“Did you give my kid a black eye?” Tony asked again, but Flash just gawked at him, confusion and terror written on the boy’s face. “Does he talk?” Tony asked in irritation as he glanced up at Flash’s father. The man jabbed his son in the back; Flash swallowed hard.

“Y-yes, Sir…but he punched me first!”

“What did you do to him?”

“Mr. Stark, according to other students who witnessed the fight, Peter did throw the first—“ Tony glared at the principal until the man stopped speaking before he turned back to Flash.

“Well?”

“I… I don’t know. Maybe he misunderstood something I said and got mad.”

“Peter doesn’t just punch people.” The boy wanted to hug his mentor. Flash looked down at his feet as he kicked at the floor. Tony just glared at the boy, his arms folded over his chest.

“Eugene, what did you say?” His father asked, looking almost as irritated as Tony did. Peter began to feel a tiny bit of sympathy for the bully as he watched the two men stare angrily at him.

“I don’t really remember… maybe just some stuff about him being a loser.”

“And?” Tony asked heatedly. The man hated that this bully had hurt Peter, but he also knew that the Young hero would never throw a punch just because someone was mean to him. Flash cleared his throat nervously.

“I might have said something about his aunt…” Anger flickered through Tony’s eyes as he stared at the teenager in front of him.

“Really, Eugene? I didn’t raise you like this.” His father hissed. “Mr. Stark, I’m truly sorry for what Eugene said to your son—“  


“Peter’s not his son!” Flash protested, though he clamped his mouth shut the instant his father shot him a warning look.

“I don’t need an apology. Peter does. Not from you; from your son.” Tony said as he looked at Flash expectantly.

“Sorry.” Flash mumbled after some hesitation.

“Wow. That was so heartfelt.” Tony said sarcastically before he turned back to the Principal who had been watching the scene in surprise, not used to someone else taking over his meetings. “What are you going to do about this?”

“Students who are caught in fights generally get detention for two weeks after school. The boys will start—“

“Excuse me, you’re punishing Peter?” Tony asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, he did throw the first punch, Mr. Stark.”

“Yeah, because this kid was trying to bully him. Aren’t you supposed to have teachers in the lunchroom to prevent this type of situation? If a teacher had dragged this kid to your office when he first started harassing Peter, none of this would have happened!” This was far from the first time that the principal had dealt with an angry guardian, but it was the first time that an angry guardian also happened to be a billionaire superhero. The man seemed unsure of how to respond. Peter didn’t want to cause trouble so he reached out to touch Tony’s side.

“It’s okay…I don’t mind going to…” Tony, who was still standing, held out his hand toward his protégé.

“Bud, come here.” He said, no one in the room missing how gentle his voice became the moment he spoke to Peter. As Peter stood up, Tony put his arm around the boy, drawing Peter protectively to his chest. Peter’s face flushed, and though he felt completely embarrassed about what a big deal the man was making out of the incident, he secretly loved that his hero was sticking up for him. Tony looked at Principal Morita. “This is what’s going to happen. You’re giving this kid detention. Peter doesn’t get detention. Also, I suggest you talk to your teachers about paying more attention to what the kids are doing. Any arguments?” Tony briefly glanced around at the other three as he gently rubbed Peter’s back. When he was met by a stunned silence, the man put on his sunglasses. “Good. Oh, and Peter’s taking a half day today.” He said as he turned Peter around, walking him out of the office.

“Mr. Stark, I’ll have homework I have to get—“

“Happy will pick it up later. Let’s go get your backpack and get out of here. Sound good?” Normally Peter would rather not skip classes, but at that moment the thought of spending more time with Tony sounded wonderful. “Besides,” Tony added in a low voice as he let Peter lead him down the hall to his locker, “that shiner you have is going to be half-healed by the time school ends. Can’t have anyone getting too curious, hm?” Peter looked at the man in surprise; he hadn’t even thought about that.

“Oh… yeah.” He said softly as he stopped in front of his locker. Just as he unlocked it and pulled his bag out, the bell rang. Peter’s eyes widened in alarm as he soon realized that everyone would see him standing in the hall with Tony Stark. The boy slammed his locker shut quickly, grabbing Tony’s hand to pull him through the hallway as quickly as possible. However, it was only a moment before the doors opened and students began flooding out of their classrooms. Though not initially in a hurry, Tony seemed to realize that his presence at the school would cause problems for Peter, who liked to keep a low profile. The man put his head down and rested his hand on Peter’s back as the two walked quickly through the hallway. None of the students seemed to notice the man, and Peter wondered hopefully if they would be able to leave the school without any unwanted attention. They had nearly made it to the front door without being noticed when the two heard a cheery voice behind them.

“Hey, Mr. Stark! Are you leaving, Peter?” The boy groaned silently as he turned to see his best friend standing in the hallway, hundreds of teens suddenly frozen in place as they noticed the superhero for the first time

“Hi, Ned.” Tony said quietly as he glanced at Peter. “Yeah, I’m taking him home early today.” Peter felt his face get hot as he noticed the other students staring at him in confusion.

“Bye, Ned!” Peter said quickly as he grabbed his mentor’s hand and dragged him out of the school, heading straight for the bright red sports car which he knew belonged to the billionaire. He finally let go of Tony’s hand once they reached the car, quickly getting into the passenger seat as he tossed his bag into the back of the vehicle. Tony walked leisurely to the driver’s side and opened the door, sliding into the front seat before he started the car and sped away. Once they were out of the school’s parking lot and stopped at a light, Tony looked over to the boy beside him, reaching out to thread his fingers through Peter’s curls.

“Rough day, huh, Kid?” Peter nodded a little, pouting slightly when Tony removed his hand to put it back on the steering wheel. “Sorry if I embarrassed you back there.”

“What? No—you didn’t…” Peter looked at the man in surprise. “I’ve just always been really good at being invisible before. It makes things easier…” Peter trailed off before looking at the man with admiration in his eyes. “Thanks for taking care of things with Principal Morita for me. I was so worried you’d be mad at me.” Though Tony couldn’t look at the boy while he drove, he could hear the relief in his voice.

“Kid, I’m always going to believe in you. I might get mad at you sometimes, but not about you getting bullied… For the record, I’d have punched that kid too if he said something about May.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“…So… you don’t think I’m lame or something?” Peter asked, Flash’s words still eating at him.

“My favorite superhero? Absolutely not. You’re probably the coolest person I know.” Tony smiled when he heard Peter laugh softly beside him. “Why would you even ask me that?”

“I dunno…just something Flash said earlier.”

“Flash? Is that the kid’s name?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m going to make that kid’s life a living hell.” Tony said, and Peter could tell by the look in the man’s eye that he was serious.

“Mr. Stark, Please don’t. He says stuff like that all the time. I just lost it when he brought May into it earlier, and—“

“Wait…Peter, does this kid regularly bully you?”

“I mean… maybe a little bit.” Peter watched as Tony clenched his jaw.

“His father seemed reasonable. I think that I’ll just—“

“Mr. Stark, you don’t understand. Flash has to bully me!” For once, Tony was stunned into silence, waiting for Peter to continue. “That’s just what he is. A bully… but ever since he started picking on me, he stopped bullying his other targets. It was really hard at first…but when that spider bit me and everything changed…Well, now I can handle it. If he punches me or says something mean, I can handle it because I’m Spiderman. And, well I know what it felt like to be powerless. It’s awful, Mr. Stark. But now, I have the power. I choose to let Flash bully me because I know he can’t hurt me anymore. And now those other kids that he bullied seem a lot happier.” Tony didn’t say a word for several moments as he pulled into the garage of the tower, not turning to look at Peter until he had parked the car.

“I wasn’t kidding earlier when I said that you’re my favorite superhero. You’re really something, Pete. No matter what happens, don’t ever change, okay?” Tony said tenderly before his eyes suddenly turned dark once again. “But if that Flash kid ever goes too far… You just say the word, and I’ll end him.” Peter unbuckled his seatbelt so that he could lean to give Tony a big hug.

“That’s so scary, Mr. Stark. Please don’t ever do that...but thank you, anyway.” He said, grinning into the man’s shoulder.

“Anything for you, Kid. Now, why don’t we go on upstairs? I think there are some cranky Avengers who could use some of your Christmas cheer.”

“I’m on it!” Peter said, hopping out of the car as he raced for the elevator. Tony chuckled as he followed, wondering how he had become lucky enough to play an important part in the life of the greatest kid he had ever known. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a long chapter. Thanks for sticking with me until the end of this one. :)


	8. Saturday, December 8th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that this chapter is late. I had a very busy day yesterday and didn't have time to post it. Please forgive me!

Though the fight with Flash hadn’t been the best start to Peter’s weekend, his afternoon had turned around the moment he arrived at the tower. Within an hour of his arrival, the Avengers started a spontaneous board game competition that lasted well past midnight; ending only when Sam and Bucky got into a heated debate about whether “Bromance“ could be counted as a word in Scrabble. After staying up so late, Peter had slept in on Saturday before spending the entire day with Tony; the two of them playing video games and watching Christmas movies together. Peter decided to turn in earlier on Saturday night, going to bed just after 11:30. He smiled as he lay in his soft, warm bed, drifting off to sleep as he thought about how he might spend his Sunday.

It was nearly 3 AM when Peter awoke with a loud gasp, bolting straight up in bed as his hand flew to his chest. He looked around the room with widened eyes, slowly calming down as he realized where he was. Peter reached for the lamp on his bedside table, quickly turning on the light before wiping hastily at his teary eyes. He wrapped his trembling arms around himself, whimpering softly as he squeezed his eyes shut. Peter hated nightmares; especially the recurring nightmare he had of Adrian Toomes dropping a building on him. Shortly after the incident had occurred, Peter had the nightmare almost every night. He was never able to calm down enough to fall back asleep, so the boy would stay up late reading comic books or watching TV. One time, when May had found him watching TV at 2 AM on a school night, Peter had confessed to his aunt about the nightmares. Though he refused to go into detail, May could tell that the bad dreams were affecting her nephew greatly. She had turned off the TV and squeezed Peter’s hand, taking him back to her room and tucking him into the other side of her large bed; the same way she did when Peter was a little boy. Ever since that night, if he had a nightmare, he would simply sneak into his aunt’s room and crawl into bed with her. In any other circumstance, the teenager would have hated himself for doing something so childish. However, it ended up being a lifesaver for him. Over time, the nightmares had all but stopped; though they still shook him up terribly when they did occur.

Peter opened his eyes after a few moments, glancing at the alarm clock beside his bed. It was just before 3 AM. He knew that Tony often stayed up late. Maybe by a stroke of luck, the man had not yet gone to bed.

“Hey, Friday. Is Mr. Stark awake?”

“Yes, he is, Peter.”

“Really? Is he in his lab?”

“No, he is in his bedroom.”

“Oh…” Peter sighed softly and crawled back under his covers. The man was probably getting ready for bed. He would hate to bother him now.

“Mr. Stark wants to know what the problem is.”

“Friday!” He whined, sitting up suddenly. “You didn’t need to bother him. I was just asking.”

“You seem distressed, Peter. I thought Boss would want to know.”

“Tell him there’s no problem!” Peter was greeted with silence and he sighed as he picked up his phone. Maybe he would just watch some youtube videos for a few hours until some of the other Avengers woke up. A few moments later, the boy was startled by Friday’s voice as she spoke again.

“Boss wants to know why you’re awake.” Peter rolled his eyes.

“I just can’t sleep.”

“Boss says he is going to come to your room if you don’t tell him the truth.” Peter huffed as he pulled back the covers, heading to his mentor’s room to tell the man he was fine. _“Lesson learned. Never trust Friday to **not** bother Mr. Stark.”_ He grumbled to himself as he approached the man’s door, opening it and stepping inside. He was surprised that the room was completely dark except for a small lamp on the man’s nightstand. Tony was sitting up in his bed, a StarkPad in hand, and Peter bit his bottom lip.

“Uh, Mr. Stark. I’m sorry if Friday woke you up. I **_told_** her not to bother you.”

“She has a mind of her own.” Tony said, laughing softly. “I was already awake though. Why are you up? I thought you went to bed hours ago.”

“Well, I did…Just had a bad dream, that’s all.” Peter said, trying to downplay how anxious the nightmare had made him.

“You wanna talk about it?” Tony asked, setting his StarkPad down in his lap.

“No, it’s okay!” He insisted, turning to leave the room.

“Kid, come here.”

“No, Mr. Stark, I’m totally—“

“Now.” Tony’s tone left no room for arguments so Peter shuffled across the large room, standing next to the man’s bed as he looked down at his fingertips. Tony watched through the dimly lit room as Peter slowly approached him, and the man sighed softly.

“Kid, don’t you trust me?” Peter looked up in surprise.

“Of course I do, Mr. Stark!”

“Then why won’t you talk to me?”

“I…just don’t want to bother you.”

“You’re never a bother, Peter.” Tony said seriously before patting the bed, indicating for Peter to sit. “What’s going on?”

“I… I just have this one nightmare a lot. That’s all.” Peter said as he sat down, avoiding eye contact with the man—He was so worried Tony would think he was being too childish that he hesitated before continuing. “Remember a few months back when I told you about that time Mr. Toomes dropped a building on me? I have bad dreams about it. I wake up scared. I feel like I can’t breathe. It feels like I’m really trapped under it again.” He glanced up at the man before looking down at the bedspread. “I know it’s dumb and stuff…it shouldn’t bother me.” Tony was silent for a moment which caused Peter to fidget nervously, though he stopped in surprise at the man’s next words.

“It’s not dumb, Kid. I have nightmares all the time. Why do you think I hardly sleep?” The man asked with a wry laugh as he pointed at the small lamp beside his bed. “I don’t turn this off before I go to sleep. I can’t sleep if it’s too dark.”

“Mr. Stark, you sleep with a night light?” Peter asked, shocked by the revelation.

“Sure do. It’s not dumb or stupid that your nightmares bother you.” The boy looked down at the bedspread, running his fingers along it carefully for a moment.

“Mr. Stark, can I sleep with you tonight? I normally sleep with May after I have a nightmare.” The boy asked in a small voice, partly embarrassed and partly scared the man would not allow it.

“Get in.” Tony said, lifting the covers. Peter looked at the man gratefully before crawling beneath the blankets. Tony set his StarkPad onto the nightstand before he moved to lie down, reaching over toward Peter to make sure the blankets were covering him properly.

“G’night, Mr. Stark.”

“Night, Kid.”


	9. Sunday, December 9th

When Tony woke up early on Sunday morning, he curled closer into the warmth beside him. A few moments passed before the man had the energy to slowly crack open an eye, finding that the source of extra heat was Peter; who was curled right up against his chest. For a brief second, Tony wondered why Peter was in his bed until he remembered their late-night conversation concerning the boy’s nightmares. He lazily draped an arm over Peter before allowing himself to drift back off to sleep.

Tony woke up again a few hours later, finding Peter still cuddled up against him. He smiled down at the boy before glancing at the clock on his bedside table. The clock read 10:03, and Tony decided to go make himself some coffee and answer a few emails before Peter woke up. Shifting carefully to avoid waking up the sleeping teenager beside him, Tony began to slip out from under the covers. The moment he moved, Peter whined softly. Tony chuckled, thinking the boy was awake. “Just going to make some coffee, Bud. Go back to sleep.”

“Don’t want coffee.”

“Good, because the coffee is for me.” He said as he stood up, an amused expression on his face. Another soft whine escaped Peter’s lips as he felt Tony leave the bed.

“Dad, I’m cold.” Tony froze, looking down at the boy in shock.

“…Huh?” When the boy remained silent, he gently tapped Peter’s shoulder.

“Cold.”

“Oh…right.” Tony muttered distractedly as he tucked the boy back in before pulling an extra blanket from the foot of the bed and placing it over him. As he straightened up, the man stared down at Peter. He could tell that the boy wasn’t fully awake, but the teenager calling him “dad” by accident had completely melted his heart. With a fond smile, he leaned back over and tenderly brushed the hair off of Peter’s forehead before placing a soft kiss where the curls had been. He turned around and grabbed his StarkPad before exiting the room with a large smile on his face.

* * *

Around an hour later, Peter began to wake up, pulling the covers over his head with a groan. His bed was too warm, and he didn’t want to leave it to go to school. He lay there for several minutes, thinking about the strange dream he had about Mr. Stark. As his thinking became clearer, he realized that it was only Sunday morning so he didn’t have to go to school. A grin settled across his face for a brief moment until his eyes suddenly widened in horror.

_“Please let this be my room. Please let this be my room.”_ Peter thought as he slowly peeked out from beneath the blankets. Upon finding himself in Tony’s room, he groaned loudly.

_“OH. MY. GOD. Me calling Mr. Stark ‘Dad’ was a dream, right? I didn’t actually do that, did I?”_ Peter began to panic internally before he remembered the presence of Tony’s AI.

“Hey, Friday…uh… did I say anything weird this morning?” Peter asked as he sat up.

“What do you mean by ‘weird’, Peter?”

“Just ** _PLEASE_** tell me that I didn’t call Mr. Stark ‘Dad’ earlier.”

“But you did.”

“…Oh, okay. Hey Friday, can you open that window for me so I can jump out it and die?” Peter asked as he hid his face behind his hands.

“I think I should call—“

“I was kidding, Friday! It was a joke!” Peter said quickly, though he was only half kidding.

“I don’t believe that was a very funny Joke.” The boy rolled his eyes and slumped back against the pillows as he pulled the blankets back over his head; this time out of embarrassment.

“I am SO stupid. Why would my brain even betray me like that? First I ask to sleep in his bed like a **_baby_** , and then I call him **_‘Dad’_**. Mr. Stark’s must hate me.” The boy said aloud to himself as he rolled over to bury his face into one of the pillows on the bed.

“I’m not sure why you’re distressed, Peter. Boss does not hate you.”

“Friday, I know you’re like smarter than me, and all, but Mr. Stark’s not my dad. He already let me sleep with him, and that was probably annoying enough. He’s just **_super nice_** so he didn’t say anything, but…” The boy’s voice trailed off, his embarrassment forgotten, as tears filled his eyes. Had he just ruined his relationship with Mr. Stark?

“I think it made him happy.”

“…Why do you think that?” Peter asked in surprise, blinking away some of his tears. Instead of a verbal response, a holographic screen appeared before Peter, playing back the footage from earlier that morning. Peter cringed hard when he heard himself whining, and he cringed even harder as he watched himself call Tony “Dad”. When he saw the look of surprise on Tony’s face, he groaned. “Friday, I don’t want to see—“

“Just watch it, Peter.” Peter sighed and reluctantly turned his attention back to the screen. He watched as his mentor spread a blanket over him, a tender look on the man’s face. The boy watched in surprise as Tony’s eyes softened even more, and he reached out to brush the hair from Peter’s face before leaving a kiss on his forehead. The screen disappeared and the teenager continued to stare straight ahead, mouth agape in surprise.

“Am I mistaken in thinking he seemed happy?” The AI asked, and Peter slowly shook his head.

“No…” He began, his cheeks flushing. “No, Mr. Stark looked really happy.” The AI said nothing in response, leaving Peter alone with his thoughts. Did Mr. Stark actually see him as a son? That video sure made it seem like he did. And hadn’t Mr. Stark gone all the way down to his school and defended him the other day? Maybe Peter didn’t bother his mentor as much as he thought he did. The teenager got out of bed and made his way out of the room to find Tony. He would **_definitely_** pretend that he didn’t remember referring to the other man as his father, but it did make him feel giddy to know that Mr. Stark didn’t mind thinking of him as his son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's chapter was short but sweet. I hope you enjoyed reading the fluff as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)


	10. Monday, December 10th

Peter yawned as he opened his locker, shoving his backpack and coat into it before grabbing his first- period textbook.

“Hey, Peter! How was your weekend?” Ned asked as he approached his best friend.

“It was fun!” Peter said as he pushed up the sleeves of the slightly oversized hoodie he _might have_ stolen from Tony’s closet the day before. “How was yours?”

“Pretty good. Well, my mom did make me clean my room. But fun otherwise. Dude, what happened on Friday though! I can’t believe Mr. Stark came to our school!” Peter groaned and rolled his eyes.

“I can’t believe Aunt May made him my emergency contact and didn’t even tell me!”

“Was he mad at you?

“Actually…” Peter leaned in closer and lowered his voice, smiling as he remembered his mentor sticking up for him. “Mr. Stark was really cool. You should have seen Flash! He was _**terrified**_. Mr. Stark kinda yelled at him, and then Flash’s dad got mad at Flash. Principal Morita was going to give us both detention since I threw the first punch, but Mr. Stark was all like, “Uh, no. This kid gets detention. Peter doesn’t. Have your teachers watch the kids better. Oh, and Peter’s taking a half day today.” And Principal Morita couldn’t do ** _a_ _nything_**.”

“Dude, Mr. Stark is such a boss!”

“I know, right?”

“You’re so lucky…but after you left on Friday, Mr. Stark being here with you was all anyone talked about for the rest of the day.”

“Really?” Peter asked, a sense of dread washing over him.

“Yeah, Everyone was going crazy.”

“Well, that was Friday…maybe everyone forgot about it by now.” Peter said hopefully as he slammed his locker shut. However, as he and Ned began to walk to their first class, that hope was quickly shattered by the stares and whispers of the other students the boys passed. As they were about to enter their classroom, the most popular girl in school approached Peter with her posse.

“Hi, Peter!” Peter and Ned looked at each other in surprise. Since when did cheerleaders care about him?

“Uh…hi.”

“I heard you have an internship at Stark Industries and that you’re, like, really close with Tony Stark.”

“Yeah…I mean, that is true, I guess…” The ringing of the bell caused the cheerleader to pout.

“Ugh! Find me later, okay?” She said with a giggle as she and the other cheerleaders headed off to their own classes.

“What was that about?” Peter asked, confusion written on his face as he and Ned headed toward their desks.

“I think you’re popular now…” Ned said, and Peter groaned internally. Attention was the last thing he wanted.

* * *

Lunchtime was unlike anything Peter had ever experienced before. Every social group was fighting to sit with him. Pretty girls were flirting with him, jocks were calling him “bro”, and everyone else in between was inviting him to join their club or attend some party. As if that weren’t bad enough, he was being bombarded with questions from everyone around him.

“What’s Mr. Stark like?”

“Have you met any of the other Avengers?”

“Is Stark Industries as awesome as it seems?”

“How did you get so close to Tony Stark?”

“I heard Tony Stark is like your dad! Is that true?” Peter began to panic internally. He never had been one for attention from large groups of people. The fact that everyone now knew he was close enough with Tony Stark for the man to come to Peter’s school, began to make him nervous. What if someone figured out that he was Spiderman? To top it all off, the plethora of different voices aimed in his direction completely overwhelmed the boy’s senses.

“I’ll be right back!” Peter said, but as some teens began to follow him, he quickly added. “I have to go to the bathroom!” Peter practically ran out of the cafeteria and into the nearest empty classroom. He shut the door, releasing a deep sigh of relief as he soaked in the quiet.

* * *

“May, I don’t what to do. You wouldn’t believe it. I’ve gone to school with half of the people at school for like, ten years, and they never paid any attention to me. Suddenly, they find out that I know Mr. Stark, and they all freak out. Girls were asking me to their parties, and guys were asking me to hang out with them, and…it was so weird.” Peter said as he used icing to glue gumdrops onto the top of the gingerbread house that he and his aunt were making together.

“I’m afraid that’s just how life is, Honey. It doesn’t stop after high school either. A lot of people throughout your life will ignore you until you become useful to them.” She said as she made icing windows on the side of the house. “The Silver Lining is that it makes it very easy to know who your true friends are.”

“I guess so. But I want it to go away. Everyone is too loud, and I’m really worried someone will figure out that I’m Spiderman. I mean, that’s mainly why Mr. Stark keeps me around as his ‘intern’ anyway.” May frowned as she set down her bag of icing.

“Peter, that’s not true.” He looked up at his aunt and then bit his lip as his eyes fell back to the gingerbread house.

“I know…I know he cares about me a lot.” Peter said, his heart warming as he remembered the video Friday had shown him the day before. “But nobody else knows that. They just see the coolest superhero **_ever_** coming into school and treating the nerdiest kid at school like his own kid and…and they all know that he’s not my dad. They’ve been asking so many questions…”

“A lot of times, these things just blow over by themselves. Something else will happen, and everyone will turn their attention elsewhere. You’ll see. By tomorrow, I bet you'll only get half the attention you got today.”

“You think so?”

“Trust me. Some new rumor will start, and everyone will start talking about that.” May said as she leaned over to put a dollop of icing on Peter’s nose. The boy laughed before playfully throwing a piece of candy in his aunt’s direction. May was probably right. New rumors were always floating around his school. Hopefully by tomorrow, everyone would be thinking about something new. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter stealing Tony's hoodie was my favorite part of this chapter uwu


	11. Tuesday, December 11th

May had been correct when she said that a new rumor would soon be floating around Peter’s school. Unfortunately for Peter, the rumor was about him. He didn’t know who had started it, or why, but word was going around the school that Peter was Tony’s illegitimate son. Students were saying that Tony had been too embarrassed to have Peter as a son, so he had paid May to raise him. Not only did the unfavorable rumor hurt him terribly, but it did very little to deter Peter’s unwanted popularity. The young hero had managed to put on a brave front all day as he tried to avoid the attention of his peers; by the time school ended and it was time for Academic Decathlon practice, Peter was emotionally exhausted.

“Peter, you know that if anyone actually believes those rumors that they're stupid, right?” Ned asked as they walked through the nearly empty hallway.

“I guess…but maybe not…I mean, MJ hasn’t been sitting with us at lunch the past few days.”

“You know she’s avoiding the chaos.”

“She does hate crowds…”

“And stupid people.” That comment made Peter laugh a little bit, and Ned grinned. As the boys turned the corner, they almost bumped into Flash who was just closing his locker.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Peter Stark.”

“Oh c’mon, Flash, you know that rumor isn’t true.”

“Uh. Yeah, Duh.” Peter was momentarily confused by the bully’s response until his eyes widened in realization.

“ _ **You**_ started the rumor?” He asked, going pale. Flash simply smirked in response.

“Dude, what is wrong with you?” Ned asked angrily. Flash laughed.

“You think I’m going to let a dork like you embarrass me in front of the whole school and get away with it? I don’t think so.”

“Pretty sure you embarrassed yourself.”

“Shut up, Leeds.” Flash said as he glared in Ned's direction. Peter looked down at his hands which were balled into fists. He sighed softly as he slowly uncurled his fingers. Punching Flash wouldn’t solve anything—no matter how badly he wanted to hit the other boy.

“Too scared to fight again, huh?” Flash taunted as he watched Peter’s actions. “What’re you gonna do? Get your daddy to make Principal Morita give me more detention?” The bully sneered as he turned to leave, not bothering to wait for a response.

“You know what, Flash—“ Ned was furious. However, Peter touched his friend’s arms and shook his head, causing Ned to go quiet. “He sucks. Don’t let him bother you, Peter.”

“I know…”Peter said dejectedly before glancing at his friend. “Ned, I’m not feeling great…I’m gonna head home early. Tell MJ I’m sorry about skipping practice, okay?”

“Peter…”

“Ned, I’m okay. Promise.”

“...Okay. Text me later?”

“I will.” Peter said, managing a smile for his friend before he turned to walk from the school. The moment he left the building, he pulled out his phone to call Tony. When the man didn't answer, Peter sighed, kicking a chunk of dirty snow as he shoved his phone back into his pocket.

* * *

Peter moved to sit on the bench in front of his school, letting the icy breeze numb some of his sadness. He had only been sitting there for five minutes when he felt his phone vibrate. Peter pulled it from his pocket, answering as soon as he saw who was calling him.

“Hi, Mr. Stark.”

“Hey, Pete. Sorry I missed your call. I just got out of the shower. Everything okay?”

“Oh, yeah. Everything’s fine.”

“…Was there a reason you were calling me?”

“I just had a question, but if you’re busy…”

“Kid, what’s the question?”

“How do you deal with being so popular?” Peter bit his bottom lip as he was met with a brief silence.

“It’s not really that hard—why are you even asking me this?”

“Lately at school, everyone’s been bothering me… and…” Peter sighed. He wanted Tony, but it wasn’t the weekend, and he didn’t want to cause trouble.

“All right, Pete. Where are you?”

“Huh?”

“I’m coming to get you. Where are you?”

“School…but I know you must be really busy—“

“I can’t hear you over the sound of my car’s engine. See you in about fifteen.” Tony hung up, and Peter smiled to himself; Mr. Stark always made him feel better.

* * *

“Kid, how long were you sitting outside?” Tony said with a frown as Peter climbed into the front seat.

“I dunno. Like twenty minutes or so. Since like five minutes before you called.” The boy said with a shrug as he pulled his gloves off and held his hands over the heater.

“If I had known you were **_outside_** of your school, I would have made a Starbucks ran after I picked you up.” Tony grabbed the paper cup in his cup holder and took a sip before pointing to the one in Peter’s cup holder. “Drink up, Kid.”

“You got me coffee?” Peter asked in surprise as he picked up the cup, smiling as he felt the drink's warmth begin to thaw his cold fingers.

“Yeah, right.” Tony said with a sarcastic laugh. “Hot cocoa for you. It’s not May’s, but it’ll do.” Peter smiled as he took a sip of the hot chocolate.

“Thanks, Mr. Stark.”

“You’re welcome. Now tell me what’s going on.”

“It’s nothing really…it’s just—“ Peter did not want to tell Tony exactly what the rumor was about, or who had started it. He knew that if he did, Tony would march down to his school, get Flash expelled, and only perpetuate the wild rumors flying around. “So...ever since everyone saw you at school with me, I’m suddenly popular. And I don’t like it. I don’t know how you handle it.”

“Sorry, Kid. I didn’t think about what it would be like for you if I showed up at your school.” Peter frowned. His mentor seemed almost sad.

“No, Mr. Stark! You were great. I’m so glad you came…it’s just that I haven’t ever been popular. And now people are starting all these rumors about me, and—“

“Rumors?” Tony’s frown only deepened.

“Uh…nothing bad.” The boy lied as he took another sip of his cocoa. “It’s just stuff that’s not true. And people keep asking me all these questions and I just want them to leave me all alone.” Tony thought for a few moments, considering what Peter had said before he spoke.

“Just do what I do.”

“What’s that?”

“Deflect. If it’s something you don’t want to address, let people know it’s not open for discussion. It’s your life. You’re the boss. Don’t let other people push you around because they are nosy. But always be charming whenever possible. It’s nice to keep people on your good side.”

“So…basically be aloof and tell people to shove it, but be nice about it?”

“Essentially.” Tony said with a laugh. “C’mon, Try it. Pretend you’re a reporter. Ask me a question that could cause trouble.”

“Umm… Mr. Stark, is it true that Thor is your favorite Avenger?” Peter asked with a little laugh.

“You came all the way here to waste my time with a gossip column question like that? Anyone else have a real question for me?

“Whoa, that was so good! No one else would dare ask you another question like that!”

“That wasn’t even a hard question, Kid. Just think about how you can spin something back on the person asking the question. Don’t admit, don’t deny. Just deflect whenever possible. You’ll still have to answer questions here and there, but I can guarantee you that strategy will help a lot, okay?”

“Thanks, Mr. Stark. I’ll try it tomorrow.”

“Oh, and one more thing. Don’t let them see you rattled. You’d be surprised how intimidating a cool confidence can be to people.” Peter nodded, mentally taking notes.

“I’m going to try these tomorrow and then…wait, Mr. Stark…this isn’t the way to my apartment or the tower. Where are we going?”

“You seemed down, Pete.” Tony said with a little smile. “I thought we’d drive over to Brooklyn to see some Christmas lights.”

“Really?” Peter looked adoringly at his mentor for a moment before setting his cup down and leaning over to hug the man’s right arm. “Thanks, Mr. Stark. I know I waste a lot of your time and all, but—“

“No more talking like that. You’re important, Peter. No one forces me to spend time with you; I do it because I want to.” Tony quickly glanced down at the boy leaning against his shoulder, a soft smile spreading across his lips before he flipped on the radio. When the man turned on a Christmas station, the teenager’s eyes lit up. Within moments, both Tony and Peter were loudly singing “Mele Kalikimaka” as they whizzed over a bridge toward the Christmas lights. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Peter...but Tony and Ned always have his back. :)


	12. Wednesday, December 12th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. Just. Wow. I'm not going to come on here and give excuses-real life took over. I am. however, very sorry that I promised you a daily fic and only delivered on that for eleven days before going MIA. Since I'm off work today, I finally had some time to sit down and catch up on everything. I'm going to be uploading all of the chapters at once. I guess the silver lining is that you can binge read the tooth-rotting fluff now, right? Yes?
> 
> Okay, sorry. I made you wait long enough. I do hope you enjoy the story even though December is now over. 
> 
> *I would also like to give a shoutout to Gheloured, ColtsAllie, Ryuity, Lapaquita, and the random person who left kind words on the author's note I posted weeks ago. You guys are awesome.*

Peter nervously walked into school the next day, trying to remember all of the advice that Tony had given him the night before. He hoped that he wouldn’t have to use it, but he also knew that it was unlikely everyone would go back to ignoring him so quickly. Keeping his head down and moving to his locker as swiftly as possible, he dropped off his bag and coat before walking over to Ned’s locker.

“Mornin’, Ned.”

“Hey, you feeling better?”

“Yeah. Did you see the pics I sent last night?”

“The ones of those lights? They looked awesome! I’m glad Mr. Stark picked you up.”

“I am too. Oh my gosh, I have to show you this one picture where Mr.—“

“Hey, Peter!” A senior, who Peter didn’t know the name of, called out as he walked past.

“Oh, uh, hey.”

“Oh, is Peter over there?” He heard a girl ask excitedly. The boy rolled his eyes as the cheerleaders turned the corner and headed in his direction. “Peter, why are you hiding over here?”

“I mean…I’m just standing here?”

“Oh my gosh, you’re so funny. Did you do something different with your hair? It looks ** _so_** good today.”

“Hey, Bro!” A football player said as he nodded at Peter. “Dude is it true that your dad totally hates you? Because same.”

“Uh—“

“Oh yeah, Peter. Speaking of your dad…” The cheerleader began before a girl from Peter’s chemistry class walked up and interrupted.

“Hey, Peter. Think I could interview you for my journalism class?” As the teen began to feel overwhelmed once again, he tried to recall Tony’s advice. It couldn’t be that hard, right?

“Listen, guys. I really appreciate how interested you are in my life, but I’m a pretty private person.” He tried to exude an air of confidence, though he wasn’t sure if it was working.

“You’re **_too_** private, Peter. We don’t know anything about you!” The head cheerleader said with a pout.

“Yeah, bro. You’re not really telling us anything.” Said another football player who had decided to join the conversation. This was not going as planned. Peter swallowed hard as he tried to think quickly.

“I have a great solution. You let me interview you about Tony Stark, and I’ll submit it to the school newspaper. That way people can bother you less.” The girl from Peter’s chemistry class reasoned.

“I just want to know if his dad really hates him.”

“Why don’t you have the same last name? Oh my gosh, did he, like, just find out that you’re his son?”

 _“I tried to be nice… that didn’t work. Do I deflect the questions? No, wait—Mr. Stark said that sometimes they need to be answered. Is that a last resort? I remember. Admit nothing. Spin the questions back on them. Distract them. Okay, I can do that.”_ Peter thought as several other questions were hurled in his direction.

“Come on, guys. Who wants to come to school to talk about their parents?” Peter asked with a fake laugh. “Leo, didn’t you say something about a party later?”

“So Tony Stark ** _is_** your dad!”

“Wait…what?” Peter asked, looking horrified. Why weren’t they leaving him alone?

“I knew it, dude. You look **_just_** like him.”

“Wow, I never noticed it before, but he does look like his dad!” Peter grabbed Ned’s arm, pulling him away from the crowd and toward their classroom. The other students started to follow the boys, but Peter was literally saved by the bell as it began to ring, signaling the start of what Peter feared to be another long day.

* * *

Peter practically dove onto his bed when he got home from school, burying his face into his pillow with a deep sigh. He had made a mess of everything. Mr. Stark made it seem easy to deflect questions, but Peter had seemed to only dig himself into a deeper hole by using the tactic. The teen had been reflecting in thought for a few moments when he felt his phone vibrate on the pillow beside him. He ignored it the first time, but when he felt it vibrate a second time, he picked it up to see that he had two texts from Tony.

_Hey._

_How was school?_

Unable to ignore his mentor, he picked up his phone and responded to the text.

 **P:** _Ok I guess_

 **T:** _That great huh?_

 **P:** _Meh_

 **T:** _What does that mean?_

 **P:** _idk_

 **T:** _Did you take my advice?_

 **P:** _Yeah but I’m not cool like you_

 **T:** _I disagree._

 **P:** _I got nervous and messed up…kinda confirmed the rumor on accident while trying to deflect :/_

 **T:** _What is the rumor?_

 **P:** _Something stupid._

 **T:** _Then why does it bother you?_

 **P:** _idk_

**T:**

**P:** _You used an emoji_

 **T:** _Words can’t express that face. And don’t change the subject._

 **P:** _…guess it makes me sad_

 **T:** _A sad rumor?_

 **P:** _it’s mean…but it doesn’t make me mad or anything_

 **T:** _You’re a confusing kid_

 **P:** _I know_

 **T:** _I’m going back to your school to talk to your principal again._

 **P:** _OMG NO MR. STARK PLZ I SWEAR IT’S NOT A BIG DEAL OK?_

 **T:** _Is the rumor affecting your ability to study?_

 **P:** _No_

 **T:** _Don’t lie to me._

 **P:** _How did you know?_

 **T:** _I’m a genius. I’m going to your school tomorrow._

 **P:** _NOOOO_

 **T:** _It won’t take long. Should I come around noon so we can get lunch? Your friends can come too._

 **P:** _NOOOOOO i mean lunch would be so cool BUT NOOOO I AM BEGGING ON MY HANDS AND KNEES MR. STARK_

 **T:** _Give me one good reason not to go._

 **P:** _It’ll be so embarrassing._

 **T:** _I said a good reason._

 **P:** _I might cry if you come_

 **T:** _Didn’t we just talk about lying?_

**P:**

**P:** _Please please please Mr. Stark can’t I just txt you tomorrow? Maybe it’ll go away_

 **T:** _Fine. If I go, it won’t go before 11. Don’t try lying to me again._

 **P:** __sorry

 **T:** _Sweet dreams, kid_

 **P:** _you too_ _☆_

_\--_

Tony settled back with a frown. He didn’t understand why Peter was so adamant about him not visiting his school. He wouldn’t make a big deal of it—the man knew Peter liked to keep a low profile—He just planned to slip in and out after having a little chat with the principal. Peter normally told him everything, so Tony found it a bit disconcerting that the boy refused to tell him the rumor. He wanted to respect the boy’s privacy, but he also knew that Peter would rather let himself be hurt than to throw another kid under the bus. After a few moments of wondering what he should do, Tony's parental concern took over.

“Friday, find Ned Leeds’ number and put me through.”

“Yes, Boss.” About two minutes later, Tony heard the boy’s voice.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Kid. It’s Tony. I have a quick question.”

“MR. STARK?”

“Didn’t I just say that? Ned, I need you to tell me what rumor is going around your school.”

“Oh...um…why don’t you ask Peter?”

“He keeps avoiding the question. I’m worried about him.”

“I don’t know, Mr. Stark… I don’t think he would want you to know?”

“But why not?”

  
“Uh…”

“Ned.”

  
“Well, um… you’re part of the rumor so maybe he would be embarrassed.” That surprised Tony, and the man suddenly understood why Peter was being evasive.

“Is the rumor hurting Peter?”

“…Kinda…yeah.”

“I’ll never understand why people start pointless rumors just to hurt others.” Tony said, squeezing the bridge of his nose in irritation.

“It was Flash!” Ned said angrily. “He said Peter embarrassed him in front of the whole school and he wasn’t going to let Peter get away with it!”

“Flash is the kid who was bullying Peter?” Tony asked angrily.

“Yeah…

“What’s the rumor, Ned? The boy hesitated for a moment before sighing deeply.

“Flash started a rumor that you’re Peter’s real dad and you’re embarrassed by him so you paid May to raise him for you and pretend to be his aunt… it’s so stupid, but like… why else would Peter be so close to you? No one knows he’s Spiderman and you guys kinda look alike, so most of the school believes it.” Tony was seeing red. He wanted to rip that Flash kid to shreds.

“Why didn’t Peter tell someone?”

“I told him to tell you, but he didn’t want to.” Ned replied, and Tony sighed softly.

“Thanks.”

“Mr. Stark, what are you going to do?”

“Just leave it to me. Keep watching out for Peter, okay?”

“Of course, I will!”

“Good. Have a good night, Kid.” Tony said before signaling for Friday to end the call. The man placed his head in his hands as he mulled over the situation. It was really his fault that Peter was in this mess, and Tony was determined to find a way to fix it for his kid.


	13. Thursday, December 13th

When Peter walked into school the next morning, he kept his hood up and his head down as he made a beeline for his first class. A few people called out to him in the halls, but he avoided eye contact, not lifting his gaze from the ground until he was in his first period class. Most of his morning was spent this way. However, around third period, Peter began to notice that he was getting less unwanted attention from his peers. Maybe he would get lucky and Mr. Stark wouldn’t have to come to his school after all. On his way to fourth period, Peter caught up to his best friend, who was clearly excited.

“Peter, did you hear the good news?”

“Uh, no?”

“Everyone knows that Flash’s rumor wasn’t true!”

“Really? How?”

“I don’t really know. It sounds like a student told Principal Morita that Flash started the rumor. Principal Morita pulled Flash out of first period to talk with him, and he got suspended for a week!”

“What?!?”

“Yeah. Now maybe everyone will stop bothering you!” Ned was grinning from ear-to-ear, and a wave of relief washed over Peter.

“Thanks, Ned!” Peter clapped his friend on the shoulder before he started to head off to his next class. “See ya at lunch!”

“Ok!” Peter smiled at Ned before scurrying off to his next class. The moment he sat down, Peter pulled out his phone and slipped it under his desk to text his mentor.

 _“Everything is ok. Word got around that the rumor wasn’t true :)_ _“_ Peter kept his phone on his lap as class began. He had just opened up his book when he felt his phone vibrate. After a brief glance around the room, the boy glanced down at the screen

 _“Really? I guess I don’t have to come down there after all.”_ With a sigh of relief, Peter quickly responded.

 **P:** _Awwww_

 **T:** _Well, you don’t have to twist my arm. I’ll come._

 **P:** _NO I WAS KIDDING_

 **T:** So was I 

**P:** _Meanie_

 **T:**

**P:** _NOOO MR. STARK I WAS KIDDING AGAIN_

**T:**

**P:** _…Did you just discover the convenience of emojis?_

**T:**

**P:** _< _<_

 **T:** _What’s that?_

 **P:** _I’m side-eyeing you_

 **T:** _oh me @ Cap when he gets preachy_

**P:** _You’ve been reading all the memes I sent you_

**T:** _The ones I understand are funny_

 **P:** _Prof Parker can give you a class this weekend. I have a_ PhD _in memes._

 **T:** _< _<_

**P:**

**T:** _Wait a sec. Aren’t you in class now?_

 **P:** _Oops look at the time g2g_

**T:**

* * *

Tony laughed and shook his head as he set down his phone. Peter seemed much more like himself today, and the man was relieved that the rumors regarding his protégé had been resolved.

“Friday?”

“Yes, Boss?”

“Go ahead and have that donation sent over to Midtown.”

“Right away, Sir.” Tony leaned back in his chair and sighed. Was bribing the Principal of Peter’s school the most ethical thing to do? Probably not. That being said, it wasn’t really a bribe, right? After all, the principal’s job was to deal with issues such as rumors and troublemaking students. Tony was just speeding up the process a bit. He had also asked the principal to be more alert regarding rumors or issues involving Peter in the future; Tony was almost positive that Peter’s days of being in the spotlight were far from being over. All it had cost Tony was a new science lab which he had been planning to donate to Midtown anyway—After all, Peter needed the best education possible.

Tony hummed in thought as he stood up to refill his coffee. Something had been puzzling him since his text conversation with Peter the night before. The boy had said that the rumor made him sad. All of things, why sad? Was it because he had no parents? Did he think the rumors would hurt May if she found out? Maybe the thought of having Tony as his father was just that upsetting. He couldn’t fault the boy if he did feel that way. Even so, Tony hoped that wasn’t the reason the rumor made Peter sad. After all, Peter had accidentally called him “Dad” the other day, So the boy probably didn’t feel that way, right? The billionaire took a sip of his coffee and sighed as he returned to his desk to look over paperwork his lawyer had sent over to him. He really hoped Peter didn’t hate the idea of being his son.

* * *

Peter had a wonderful afternoon at school. Most teenagers would be sad when their fifteen minutes of fame was up, but not Peter. For the first time that week, he had been able to have a quiet lunch with Ned and MJ. He still got a bit more attention than normal, but it was far more manageable than it had been. Peter felt confident that by the next day, everything would be back to normal. That is, until he left school at the end of the day.

As Peter walked out of school with his friends, the three teens noticed a large crowd of students gathering excitedly around a sleek, black car parked in front of the school. After a moment of panic, Peter breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that it was not one of Tony’s cars.

“What’s that all about?” Ned asked. MJ shrugged disinterestedly.

“Who knows? As long as the attention is off me, I don’t care.” Peter said with a grin as they drew closer to the crowd. Just as the three were heading past the large group of students to leave the school grounds, Peter heard someone call his name. The boy glanced over his shoulder, eyes widening in surprise as he stared at the girl emerging from the crowd.

“Shuri?”

“Hey, Peter!” Shuri said as she ran over and gave him a quick hug as most of his school watched. Though he was very happy to see his friend, it really wasn’t what Peter needed at the moment.

“What’re you doing here?”

“T’Challa had to go to something at the UN. I made him bring me to New York with him so I could visit you.”

“She also made me her personal chauffer.” The king said as he walked up beside his sister. “Hello, Peter.”

“Hi, T’Challa.” Peter sighed softly. He would definitely go back to being the center of attention tomorrow. “Oh. These are my friends Ned and MJ. Guys, this is King—“

“Wow, King T’Challa and Princess Shuri!” Ned said excitedly. Both Peter and MJ rolled their eyes.

“Nice to meet you.” MJ said, casual as ever. “I’ve got some questions about Vibranium and the role it played in Wakanda’s technological advancement. You know, if you have the time.”

“I’d love to talk about that! Come hang out with us. You have to come too, Ned. I have so many questions for you about Peter.” She said with an evil grin, and Ned laughed.

“Duh! I’m totally coming!”

“Good!” Shuri exclaimed as she linked an arm with Peter to lead him away. “Where should we go? We could go to your room at the Aveng—“

“Yeah, my apartment!” Peter cut off quickly before dropping his voice to a whisper. “MJ doesn’t know I’m Spiderman.” Shuri nodded knowingly as she led Peter back to the car, Ned and MJ trailing close behind. Peter felt everyone’s eyes on him, hushed whispers sweeping the crowd of students as they watched Peter and his friends get into the car with the royal family of Wakanda. The moment they were out of sight, Peter began to relax. Shuri leaned over to show him the recent viral meme in Wakanda, which happened to be a picture of T’Challa rolling his eyes in annoyance. All four teenagers began to laugh at the expense of the good-natured king who took it in stride.

“Shuri is the one who made that meme popular.” T’Challa said, causing his younger sister to stick her tongue out at the man.

“It was just so meme-worthy, Brother! It’s not my fault you made that face.”

“She’s not wrong!” Peter added with a laugh. The boy had fun as he joked around with his friends, though he knew in the back of his mind that tomorrow would be another day full of unwanted attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's just one thing after another for Peter.


	14. Friday, December 14th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter makes me uwu

After school had ended, Peter practically ran from school and straight into the black sedan that Happy picked him up in every Friday night. He slammed the door as he glanced out the window, noticing several students watching him.

“Happy, Go!” The man raised an eyebrow but started driving anyway.

“What’s got you in such a hurry, Kid?” Happy asked, glancing into the rearview mirror as Peter slumped against the back seat of the car.

“I hate being the center of attention.”

“C’mon. I’ve seen you around the Avengers. You eat up being the center of attention.” Peter’s cheeks flushed slightly.

“That’s different…”

“How so?”

“Well, I know all of them…and they all know I’m Spiderman. There was a rumor going around school earlier this week that—“ Peter stopped short, not wanting Happy to tell Tony about the rumor. “Well, it was just about me and Mr. Stark. And just when it had finally stopped, Shuri and T’Challa had to freaking show up at my school, which was a really cool surprise, but now all the kids believe that rumor again. I don’t blame them either…I mean, how else would a dork from Queens be friends with the princess of Wakanda? It’s much easier to believe that I’m Mr. Stark’s illegitimate son than that I’m Spiderman.” He said with a huff before his eyes widened when he realized that he accidentally told the man what the rumor was. “Happy, please don’t tell Mr. Stark about the rumor, okay?”

“I don’t know, Kid.” Happy said, looking surprised as he slowed to stop at a red light. “Tony might need to hear about that.”

“What? Why?”

“He’s one of the most famous men in the world. Tabloids are always looking to spread rumors about him. If someone got wind of that rumor, they might try and follow you guys around and take some pictures. You two spend a lot of time together. It wouldn’t be hard for them to get some pictures, and looks-wise you could definitely pass as his kid. Think about all of the problems that would cause for both you and him. How are you two going to explain your relationship without letting the world know that you’re Spiderman?”

“Oh…” Peter said as he bit his bottom lip. “I hadn’t thought about any of that…I just didn’t want Mr. Stark to find out about the rumor.”

“Why not? You tell him almost everything else.”

“Well, yeah…but… that’s embarrassing.” Happy rolled his eyes.

“Look, Kid. You need to find a way to deal with the rumor. Tony’s your best bet for that sort of thing.”

“Well, I did ask him for help earlier this week on how to stop a rumor…his advice didn’t really work. Not that it was bad advice! I just messed it up.”

“What happened?”

“Mr. Stark said to deflect. Never really answer a question, always turn it back on the person who asked it. I, uh…might have accidentally led people to believe the rumor was true by trying to turn the question back onto them.” Peter said with a groan. Happy shook his head and let out a soft laugh.

“Peter, Tony grew up in the spotlight. Since the moment he was born, Tony couldn’t go anywhere without people knowing who he was. He’s had a lifetime of experiencing answering prying questions and addressing rumors. While it is good advice, I doubt Tony would have given you the same advice had he known what the rumor was about.”

“Maybe you’re right…” Peter said with a sigh. “But…I still don’t want to tell him.”

“If you don’t want to tell him, you’d better find a way to stop that rumor from circulating at your school.” Happy said seriously, and the teenager in the backseat nodded. The two rode in silence for a few minutes until Happy pulled up in front of the tower. “I have to run some errands, Kid. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay, Happy. Thanks for the ride.” The boy said as he opened the door and started to get out of the car.

“Kid! Remember what I said.” Peter nodded slowly before exiting the car and heading into the tower. He headed straight for Tony’s floor, where his room was, feeling exhausted. As Peter was wondering if he had time to get in a nap before dinner, the doors opened onto Tony’s floor and Peter’s eyes widened in surprise. While Peter had completely decorated the lounge that the Avengers all shared, he had not had time to do any decorating of individual floors. As far as he knew, Mr. Stark didn’t even care that much about Christmas, but since he had been to the tower the weekend prior, Tony’s entire floor had been turned into a Winter Wonderland.

“Wow!” Peter exclaimed as he walked around, looking at the twinkling lights and glittery decorations. His eyes were owl-like, filled with childish wonder, and he whirled around with a big grin on his face when he heard Tony’s voice behind him.

“What do you think?” The man asked, a smile twitching at his lips.

“It’s awesome! Did you do it all yourself?”

“Mostly.”

“It looks amazing! We’re going to have such a Christmas-y weekend!”

“We sure are. I got a ton of snacks for you out in the—“

“Snacks?” Peter asked excitedly, dropping his backpack as he sprinted to the kitchen. Tony chuckled and followed the boy. “Oh my gosh, sugar cookies and popcorn and fudge and candy canes?” Peter asked as he surveyed everything eagerly. “I want to eat it all!”

“Yeah, I don’t need a little spider bouncing off the walls before dinner. Why don’t you just have one of them right now?” Tony asked, not even realizing how much he sounded like a father.

“Ah! Okay…uh…I’ll start with a candy cane. I actually don’t think I’ve had one yet this year!” Peter said, ripping the plastic off of a candy cane before popping the end of it into his mouth. The sweet was in his mouth for less than a second before the boy spit it out and jumped back in surprise. “I need water!” He shrieked as he scrambled to get a glass, quickly filling it with water from the sink and downing it quickly. Tony looked at the boy as if he had gone insane, and Peter pointed at the candy on the table.

“Mr. Stark, I think you bought rotten candy canes. They definitely don’t taste right.”

“A rotten candy cane?” Tony asked, as he picked one of the candy canes up and unwrapped it, taking a careful lick before sticking it into his mouth for a moment. He shook his head as he removed the candy from his mouth. “That’s a perfectly fine candy cane, Kid. Maybe you just had a bad one?”

“Maybe…” Peter said as he removed the wrapper from another candy cane, taking a tiny lick before throwing it down onto the counter in disgust. “Mr. Stark, are you pranking me?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing. Do you normally get fruity candy canes or something? You do know what peppermint tastes like, right?” Tony asked, and Peter huffed indignantly.

“Of course I know what peppermint tastes like! I love peppermint!” The boy slowly grabbed one of the candies and sniffed it, making a face of disgust. “Mr. Stark… you’re definitely pranking me.” Peter whined. “Where are the real candy canes?” Tony stared at Peter in confusion for several moments before his eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. He walked over to the pantry and rummaged around for a moment before coming back with a teabag, holding up under Peter’s nose.

“Smell this.” He said, and Peter did, pulling back immediately as he smelled it. “That’s awful.”

“It’s peppermint.”

“What?”

“Peter…spiders hate peppermint.”

“…What?!?” Peter exclaimed, a look of horror on his face. “I’m not a real spider, Mr. Stark! I just have spider powers!”

“And spider DNA.” Tony said, Peter’s jaw dropping.

“This is so unfair! No more candy canes or peppermint ice cream at Christmastime? How will I even live? Oh my god, that means no more mint cocoa! I’m cursed!” Tony couldn’t help but chuckle at Peter’s dramatics. The boy just glared at him. Tony laughed again, though he suddenly stopped, face scrunching up in thought.

“Peter…don’t you brush your teeth?”

“Of course I do!” The boy said indignantly.

“Then how are you just finding out right now that your spider DNA has given you an aversion to mint?” Peter stared at Tony who stared straight back at him. They held eye contact for a good ten seconds before Tony turned and bolted out of the kitchen.

“NO!” Peter said as he chased the man through the living room. “Don’t go in my room!” Tony didn’t listen, running straight through Peter’s room and into his bathroom, opening up the medicine cabinet and poking his head inside. “Mr. Staaark! Stop!” Peter whined as he heard Tony giggle. The man closed the cabinet, grinning from ear-to-ear as he held up Peter’s Sparkle Fun toothpaste.

“Bubblegum, huh?” Tony teased, and Peter whined again as he snatched the toothpaste from his mentor.

“It works very well, okay? I am loyal to the products I like.”

“I admire that.” Tony said, biting back a laugh. Peter glared at the man for a moment before his features softened and he began to pout unconsciously as he looked up at Tony with big, puppy dog eyes.

“Don’t tell the other Avengers, okay? I don’t want them to think I’m lame.” Tony reached out to ruffle the boy’s hair as he spoke.

“C’mon, Pete. You know I’m just messing around.” 

“I know you are,” Peter began as he leaned into Tony’s touch. “But…Cap already treats me like I’m five, and if Clint or Sam found out…they’d roast me forever.” Tony slung his arm around Peter and took the toothpaste from his hands, setting it on the sink before leading him out of the bathroom.

“They’d tease you about it just like I did, but they wouldn’t think less of you, Kid. We all have our own little quirks.”

“What’s one of yours?”

“One of mine? Well…don’t let it get around, but I absolutely can’t sleep unless I’m holding something. Maybe it’s like a security thing, I’m not sure…Anyway, that’s why I have so many pillows and blankets all over the place.”

“Oh…that makes sense.” Peter said, and Tony squeezed the boy’s shoulder.

“All right, My Little Spiderling, why don’t we go toss those candy canes and decide what to order for dinner?”

“Yes! Can we watch a Christmas movie while we eat?”

“I was already planning on it.”


	15. Saturday, December 15th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cocky Tony gives me life

Peter crept into Tony’s room around ten o’clock the next morning, surprised that the man was still asleep. He stared at the sleeping man for a moment before tiptoeing back out of the room, deciding that since he had woken up first, for once, he would make Tony breakfast. Peter wasn’t quite sure how to make coffee so he googled it, pleasantly surprised to find that it was easier than he had realized. Peter added a fresh filter, coffee grounds, and water into the machine before he went over to the pantry and looked around. He wasn’t really sure how to make anything fancy, but he did know how to make a few simple things. He found a few eggs in the fridge, scrambling them up before putting some bread into the toaster. He then found yogurt and put some into two bowls, before adding some blueberries to the top. Once the toast was finished, Peter buttered it and put a bit of jam on top. When the eggs were finished cooking, the boy poured a big mug of coffee before placing everything onto a tray and carrying it into Tony’s room.

“Mr. Staaaaaark. Time for breakfast!” Peter sang out, startling Tony awake. The man tiredly rubbed his eyes and looked at Peter in confusion until he processed what he was seeing.

“Petey, you made breakfast?” He asked, voice thick with sleep.

“Yep! Breakfast in bed!” The teen said with a self-satisfied grin as he set the heavy tray onto the bed beside Tony before crawling up onto the other side of the tray. Mine’s here too so we can eat together!”

“You even made me coffee.” Tony said, touched by the sweetness of the boy’s gesture.

“Duh! How could I make you breakfast without making you coffee? Like, anyone who would do that clearly doesn’t know you.” The man laughed aloud at Peter’s words.

“You’re not wrong.” He said as he picked up the mug of coffee and took a sip. “I can feel myself becoming more alert as I speak.” Peter laughed and rolled his eyes as he bit into a piece of toast.

“Mr. Stark, whatcha wanna do today?”

“Anything’s fine by me, Kid. Although we can’t stay out later than six. Thor and Loki should be coming around that time, and Loki told me that he might attack New York again if he has to deal with any of the others before getting one of your hugs.”

“Mr. Loki didn’t say that!”

“He a hundred percent did say that. I mean, his speech was more flowery. but he definitely did say that—although I’m sure he will deny it if you ask him.” Peter grinned.

“I forgot they were coming tonight. They stay until the new year, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Wow, I’ll get to see lots of them!” Peter said enthusiastically, and Tony nodded as he bit into his toast.

The two ate in silence for a few moments before Peter perked up. “Maybe today we could watch some Christmas cartoons or play a game or something?”

“Well, we could if you want to. Although I happen to have two tickets to ‘The Grinch Who Stole Christmas’ musical at noon today.” Tony said, glancing up at Peter as he hid his smile by taking a sip of coffee.

“What? Really? That’s one of my favorite Christmas movies!”

“Yes, I remember you making us watch it a few weeks ago.” Tony said in amusement.

“We’re really going to see a live musical version?”

“Sure are.” Peter grinned and flung himself at the man, giving him a big hug.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is actually the most magical Christmas ever!” Tony set down his coffee, smiling happily as he returned the boy’s hug. After rubbing Peter’s back for a moment, he pulled away and grabbed a second piece of toast.

“We should leave in about an hour. Why don’t you go get dressed?”

“Okay!” Peter said as he eagerly hopped off the bed.

“Wear something nice!” Tony called as the teen charged out of the room. Once in his own room, Peter opened the closet full of clothing that he rarely wore. When Tony had given Peter a room at the tower, he had also filled the boy’s closet with expensive new clothing. Peter had tried to make the man return at least some of the clothing, but Tony had insisted that Peter needed all of them. Though originally against it, the fashion-challenged teen was now grateful for the abundance of options. He scanned his wardrobe, pulling out a few different things before scrunching up his nose in thought.

“What would Mr. Stark wear if he were my age?” Peter wondered as he continued to look through his closet. “Wait a second!” Peter ran to his bed and hopped onto it. Grabbing his phone off the nightstand, the teenager quickly googled “Young Tony Stark”. Peter secretly hoped to see a nerdy, awkward looking teenager, but instead, he found pictures of a very pretty boy.

_“Ugh. He’s always been so cool.”_ Peter thought to himself as he carried his phone over to his closet. After scrolling through a few pictures of young Tony, Peter chose one of the pictures, deciding to try and imitate the style. He copied the outfit the best he could, putting on a black leather jacket and dark jeans. After slipping on some sneakers, he went into his bathroom and tried to style his hair. Peter groaned in frustration when his curls refused to cooperate, finally giving up as he headed back to Tony’s room. Peter knocked on the door, entering when he heard his mentor call him back into the room. Peter walked in to see the man wearing black jeans and a blazer, his hair perfectly styled as he was fastening on an expensive watch.

“What? How do you look so good? I was gone for like fifteen minutes!”

“Actually, you were gone for twenty-two minutes.” Tony said as he glanced at the timepiece on his wrist. “But you look pretty spiffy yourself, Kid.”

“Really? I tried…but I can’t do anything with my hair.” Peter said with a sigh.

“What look were you going for?”

“Uh, kinda messy and off my face.”

“That could mean a lot of things, Pete. Help me out.” Peter was silent for a moment before sighing in resignation as he turned on his phone’s screen and held the device up for Tony to see.

“I was trying to do this.” Tony grinned as he saw the photo, taking the phone from Peter’s hands.

“Gosh, I was beautiful.” Peter rolled his eyes as Tony shook his head. “What happened?”

“You’re still beautiful. Just in a handsome way.” Peter said with a shrug and Tony clapped the boy on the back as he handed him back his phone.

“And this is exactly why you’re my favorite. Come on, let me help you with your hair. You really can’t achieve that look without hairspray.” Tony said as he led the boy into his bathroom. As he parked Peter in front of the sink, he gave the boy a once over, smiling proudly. “You nailed the look though, Kid.”

“Yeah? I have no idea about clothes so…I just copied you when you were my age.”

“It’s a great look for you. A great look for anyone, really.” Peter rolled his eyes.

“All right, close your eyes for a minute.” Tony said with a laugh as he picked up a can of hairspray. He used his hand to shield Peter’s face, spraying the product into the boy’s hair before running his fingers through the curls. After a bit more arranging and some extra hairspray, Tony stood back to admire his work.

“Wow. It’s scary how much you look like me.” Tony said, feeling as if he were looking into a mirror from thirty years ago. “But hey, at least you know you’ll age like a fine wine.”

“I like how every time you compliment me, you also compliment yourself.” Peter pointed out in amusement as the two of them walked back into the bedroom.

“Someone’s gotta do it.” Tony said with a smirk.

“Oh please. You say that as if you don’t have billions of fans singing your praises every day.

“You make an excellent point.” Tony said, laughing when Peter picked up a pillow and threw it at his head.

“C’mon, Pete. Watch the hair.” Peter stuck his tongue out, and Tony did the same, causing Peter to burst into laughter. With a grin, Tony slung his arm around the young hero, leading him out of the room. “If we leave now, we should be able to get there a little early. Late lunch after?”

“Awesome!” Peter agreed, finally feeling carefree for the first time that week.

* * *

Tony and Peter didn’t arrive back at the tower until early evening. After the musical, Tony had taken Peter to a late lunch before the pair walked around the city, simply enjoying each other’s company and the Christmas atmosphere that had settled over the city. It was nearly five o’clock before the two returned back to the tower and headed to the lounge. The moment they stepped onto the shared floor, Peter grinned.

“Mr. Thor! Mr. Loki! You’re already here!” The boy shouted as he went to give both of the gods a hug. The irritation that had been on the younger god’s face melted away the moment he received a hug from the teenager, though his serene expression lasted for mere seconds before he sent an icy glare in Tony’s direction.

“I’ve had to spend an insufferable amount of time with these dull men.”

“Yeah, love you too, Snow White.” Bucky said sarcastically, causing Sam to chortle as Loki turned his death glare in their direction. Tony couldn't help but snicker at the super soldier’s snide remark.

“Oh come on, Reindeer Games, you’re over an hour early. That’s on you.” Tony said as he approached the Asgardians, giving Thor a big hug. “How are ya? Are you settling in well?”

“We’re doing well, Tony. The land that Norway has given to my people is quite lovely. Everyone has indeed settled in nicely.” Thor said. Peter grinned as he pulled away from Loki.

“I’m so excited you guys are here! Does Asgard celebrate Christmas?”

“We do,” Thor said, “though from what I hear, we have very different traditions. I am excited to spend the holiday here and learn about how you celebrate on Midgard.”

“I can teach you guys everything!” Peter said excitedly. “First things first—do you know about the Grinch?”


	16. Sunday, December 16th

Peter woke up around nine o’clock, yawning as he threw on some clothes before stumbling out of his room. He glanced down the hall to see Tony’s door sitting wide open. Assuming the man was in the kitchen with his coffee, Peter charged out, frowning when he found the room empty. After checking the living room as well as Tony’s office, Peter frowned.

“Friday, Where’s Mr. Stark?”

“He’s in his lab, Peter.”

“Oh, okay.” The boy headed over to the elevator, asking Friday to direct the lift to Tony’s lab. When the boy arrived at his destination a few moments later, he walked in to find a somber-looking Tony sitting on the couch in the corner, staring at a Starkpad as he nursed a scotch.

“Mr. Stark…are you okay?” Peter asked worriedly, wondering why the man was hiding in his lab and drinking so early on a Sunday morning. Tony looked up, seeming to only notice the young hero’s presence after he had spoken. The genius managed a small smile as he nodded.

“This day is always rough for me, Kid. I’ll be fine.” Peter frowned at the response, moving to sit on the couch beside the other man.

“Sundays are always rough for you?”

“No. December 16th.” Tony tilted his Starkpad slightly so that Peter could see the screen. On it was a scan of an old newspaper from Dec 17th, 1991, the headline reading “Howard and Maria Stark Die in Car Accident”. Peter could have kicked himself. He remembered learning about the death of the Starks in his middle school history class. If only he had remembered the date. The boy got onto his knees and moved to wrap his arms around Tony, the other man moving almost immediately to reciprocate the hug. As Peter held his mentor, he wondered just how hard today must be for Tony. Peter was certain that the only reason he had been able to recover from his Uncle Ben’s death was that he had May. As he imagined the photos of young Tony that he had seen the day before, Peter’s heart broke as he imagined that boy crying all alone after losing his parents. Several minutes passed before Tony finally released a deep sigh, lifting his cheek from Peter’s shoulder as he reluctantly pulled away from the boy. Peter frowned as he searched the man’s face.

“Mr. Stark. I can hug you all day long if you want.” Peter offered and Tony flashed him a genuine smile.

“Thanks, Kid. I’ll let you know if I need another one.” Peter knew that was probably a lie, so he decided to pay extra attention to the man’s behavior—he prided himself on being able to tell exactly when people he cared about needed a hug.

“Do you want to be alone?”

“No.” Tony said quickly, and Peter nodded as he remained on the couch beside his mentor. The two sat in silence for several minutes before Tony finally looked down at the Starkpad in his lap and turned off the screen. “They didn’t die in a car accident.”

“Uh…what?” Peter asked in confusion. Tony glanced at the boy beside him.

“They didn’t die in a car accident. Their car did crash, but they were still alive. They were murdered.” Tony swallowed hard as he turned his eyes back to the black screen of his tablet.

“I don’t understand.”

“Even I thought they died in a car accident until a few years ago. But they didn’t. Hydra killed them. My father had been working on replicating the super soldier serum that Erskine originally used on Cap. Hydra found out. Sent an assassin to kill my parents and get the serum.” Peter’s jaw dropped in surprise as he stared at Tony.

“How did you find out it was Hydra?” Peter asked. Tony took a deep breath before moving his eyes back up to meet Peter’s.

“I was shown the video of their murder.” Peter stared at Tony with a look of disbelief.

“Why would someone show you that?”

“It was a man who lost his family in Sokovia…he wanted revenge on us. He wanted to destroy the Avengers.”

“I don’t get it…” Peter said after a moment of silence. “How would showing you that destroy the Avengers?” Tony looked down at the scotch in his hand, lifting the glass to his lips.

“The assassin who killed my parents was the Winter Soldier.” Tony said before taking a sip of scotch. Peter’s eyes became so large that it would have been comical had the topic not been so serious.

“Sergeant Barnes?” Peter asked, and Tony nodded.

“We’re fine now. I know he had no control over what he did. Though I did try to kill him after seeing…after seeing him kill my mom. Part of the reason the Avengers weren’t together for a while… You know, I only watched the video once several years ago, but the image is just as vivid as if I had recently watched it.” The genius took another sip of his drink. Peter watched in silence for a moment before speaking.

“Mr. Stark… why are you telling me this?” Tony appeared surprised, looking down at his lap in thought as if he were unsure of how to answer Peter’s question. He remained quiet for several moments before glancing back up at the teen.

“Guess it’s because you’re my family now, Kid.” Tony moved his glass up towards his lips, intending to finish off his drink when Peter suddenly hugged him again. The man smiled softly for a moment before patting Peter’s back.

“Petey, will you do me a big favor?”

“Yes, anything.” The boy agreed immediately.

“Would you run a quick errand with me?”

* * *

Tony kneeled down onto the frozen ground, brushing the slush from his parents’ tombstones before he placed a bouquet of pink roses beside his mother’s grave. Peter watched as Tony reached up to tenderly brush his fingers over his mother’s name, the man blinking back a few tears as he did so. Peter bit his lip, unsure of what to do. After a brief moment of contemplation, he stepped forward, putting his hand on Tony’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort the man. The genius was silent for several moments before greeting his parents. Peter felt as if he were eavesdropping on something far too personal, but Tony had asked him to come, so he supposed his mentor didn’t mind him overhearing. After a few moments, Peter noticed that Tony was mostly speaking to his mother. The one time he did address his father, he called him by name. The boy was curious about this but chose to store it in the back of his mind, deciding that this was not the day to ask Tony about it. After several more minutes had passed, Peter felt Tony’s hand reach up to cover the hand he had on the man’s shoulder.

“Mom, I brought someone here for you to meet. This is Peter. I think you two would get along wonderfully.” The boy’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Hi, Mrs. Stark.” Peter said, and Tony laughed softly as he squeezed the boy’s hand. Tony stared in silence for another moment before he looked up at his protégé.

“Can I have a minute alone, Pete?”

“Of course! I’ll just go wait in the car.” Tony nodded and Peter slowly made his way back to the car. He opened up the door, getting into the passenger seat as he watched the man speak to his parents for a bit longer. After a few minutes had passed, the genius returned to the car, a genuine smile on his face.

“Thanks for coming with me today.”

“It was no problem…are you okay?” Tony smiled in response and reached out to ruffle the boy’s hair.

“Feeling better. I might be crazy, but do you know what would make me feel even better?”

“What?”

“Ice cream.” 

“It’s never a bad day for ice cream—no matter how cold it is.” Peter said with a grin.

“Wiser words have never been spoken.” The man said as he started up the car. Peter smiled as he settled back into his seat. While the boy wasn’t sure why Tony had wanted him to join him for his visit to the cemetery, Peter was left feeling happy that his mentor trusted him enough to bring him along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter is so sweet ;w;


	17. Monday, December 17th

Monday mornings were the worst. Luckily for Peter, this Monday morning happened to mark the beginning of his final week of school before Christmas vacation began. He tried to avoid the onslaught of attention that he was receiving, thanking Principal Morita profusely when the man told a large group of students to leave Peter alone. Keeping his head down, he found himself exhausted by the beginning of third period. Five minutes into his class, Peter felt his phone vibrate and he pulled it from his pocket. Curiously glancing at the screen, he frowned when he saw the message was part of a group text with two numbers he did not recognize.

_Hi, Peter._

Assuming some classmates had found his number, he ignored the message until his phone vibrated again a few moments later.

_Hello, Little One._

Little one? There was only one person who called him that.

_Loki?_ Peter quickly text back

**L:** _Yes?_

**P:** _Is the other person in this group Thor?_

**T:** _Yes, it’s me!_

Peter glanced up to make sure his teacher hadn’t noticed him texting before he quickly saved the two new numbers into his phone before responding.

P: _When did you guys get phones?_

**T:** _Tony gave them to us. He said we can’t survive on earth without them._

**L:** _Which is absolutely ridiculous. Gods don’t need these things to survive._

**P:** _But Mr. Loki, you can use it to talk to me from_ a n y w _h e_ r e _. Even New Asgard._

**L:** _I did not say the devices were without merit._

**T:** _Peter, we hear you’re the expert on Christmas._

**L:** _Yes, we hardly got to speak with you since we arrived. We want to learn more about Midgard’s Christmas, remember?_

**P:** _I told you about Santa, Rudolph and the Grinch…omg I haven’t told you about Frosty!_

**T:** _Who is Frosty?_

**P:** _Frosty the Snowman is a happy, jolly soul!_

**T:** _Snowman? Is he from Jotunheim?_

**L:** _Idiot._

**P:** _No he has a corncob pipe and a button nose and two eyes made out of coal._

**T:** _Sounds just like a Jotun if you take away the pipe._

**L:** _I will end you, Brother._

_**T:** _

_**P:** Stop it! _

Peter texted before slipping his phone back into his pocket as his teacher began to walk around, passing back test results from the previous class.

**L:** _Wait, how did you make that small face?_

_**T:** I found these pictures by mistake. They seem quite useful. _

_**L:** Well, come show me where I might find them. _

_**T:** Your room is very far. Send over one of your clones. _

_**L:** How such a lazy oaf ever became King is something I find truly baffling._

_**T:** When you ruled Asgard for two years, you sat around in your bathrobe eating grapes. _

_**L:** I was ruling a peaceful, cultured nation._

_**T:** The other realms fell into chaos. _

Once the teacher returned to the front of the classroom, Peter pulled out his phone, rolling his eyes after scanning the gods’ conversation.

**P:** Stop it! I thought you wanted to know about Christmas on Earth!

**L:** My apologies, Little one.

**T:** Sorry, Peter.

**P** : Ok in class, will txt later. The boy quickly typed, hiding his phone again before his teacher noticed him texting

* * *

By the time he got to lunch, Peter had over thirty unread messages from the Asgardians.

**T:** What is a candy cane?

**L:** Stark says you went to see Christmas lights. What do humans find so fascinating about looking at tiny lights?

**T:** Why do children get coal if they are naughty? That seems like a very practical gift to me.

**L:** How is Christmas cheer different from regular cheer?

**T** : What is this “eggnog”, and where can I get some?

Peter shook his head as he read through the messages, quickly leaving the group chat to text Tony.

**P:** Mr. Stark, plz tell Mr. Thor and Mr. Loki to stop texting me so much during school!

**T:** Sorry, Kid. Have they been bothering you? I turned on some Christmas specials a while ago and they have been watching them intently. Thought it would keep them busy.

**P:** It has. Busy blowing up my phone with questions!

**T:** Sorry. I’ll try to answer the questions, ok?

**P:** Thank youuu

**T** : No problem, Kid.

\--

1:41 PM – **T:** Kid, I’m going insane.

2:07 PM – **T:** How do they have this many questions?

2:31 PM – **T:** We’re picking you up from school, and you’re taking over. I can’t do this anymore.

Peter read the last text as soon as it was received, quickly typing out a response while trying to remain as discreet as possible.

**P:** NOOOO! In the last two weeks I got picked up by you and the King and Princess of Wakanda. If you show up at my school with royal gods, I will never have privacy again!

**T:** Ok fair point. We’ll pick you up a block away in front of that little red bakery.

**P:** Ok, but we’re going to my apartment. May’s getting off early today.

**T:** Nevermind, Pete. Spend time with May. I’ll try to pawn them off on Cap

**P:** it’s ok. I just want to spend time with May too. She would be happy if you came. She’s got some weird crush on Thor :/

**T:** Oh please. Who doesn’t have a weird crush on Thor?

**P:** You make a good point

**T:** See you in 30 min. Aren’t you still in class? Stop texting me!

**P:** You txt me first!

**T:**

Peter bit back a laugh as he slid his phone back into his pocket, trying to focus during the last few minutes of his final class.

\--

“Thank you, May. This eggnog is quite delicious.” Thor said. May grinned like a schoolgirl, and Peter shook his head.

“Mr. Thor, she just poured it. It’s not like she made it herself.”

“Come now, Peter. I’m convinced that your fair aunt’s touch must have had a hand in how delightful this drink is.” Thor said with a wink at May. The woman giggled, and both Peter and Loki rolled their eyes as Tony watched in amusement. Deciding to take the conversation back to avoid watching his brother flirt with Peter’s aunt, Loki cleared his throat pointedly before looking at the teenager beside him.

“There’s still one thing that I don’t understand.”

“What’s that, Mr. Loki?”

“Why do humans seem so terribly infatuated with the idea of having a ‘white Christmas’?”

“Well…because snow is magical!”

“Is it only magical at Christmastime?” Peter thought for a moment before shaking his head.

“Not really…but also kinda?” Loki just raised an eyebrow. “I mean you have the famous song…and it’s so sparkly and pretty and stuff…” Peter trailed off. The boy loved a white Christmas, but he was suddenly unsure of how to explain just why he always wished for one.

“I can take this one, Kid.” Tony said. Peter looked at the man curiously before nodding.

“I won’t go too much into the history of the holiday, but around the time that Christmas was starting to become popular, there was a mini ice age on this planet. After a few years, people began to associate snow with Christmas. Songs and stories were written about Christmas and snow, and it ended up becoming a romanticized image of the holiday. As much as I hate snow sometimes, even I have to admit that I would never turn down a white Christmas.” Tony explained. Loki nodded thoughtfully, and Peter looked up at Tony with admiration in his eyes. Was there anything his mentor didn’t know?

“Interesting. I do hope that we will have a white Christmas then so that I can experience snow in the way humans do.” Loki said thoughtfully. Peter glanced out the window, catching a glimpse of a star—a rare sight in the middle of the city’s night sky.

“I hope so too.” Peter said aloud before making a silent wish on the star that this year would be the most magical Christmas of all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did both Tony and Peter both admit to having a weird crush on Thor? Guess we'll never know for sure.


	18. Tuesday, December 18th

“Thanks for picking me up, Happy!” Peter said as he climbed into the black sedan that usually only picked him up on Fridays.

“No problem, Kid.” Happy took off toward the tower and Peter grinned in anticipation. It was Dr. Banner’s birthday, and Peter could not wait to help celebrate with all of the Avengers. Though the thought of their party was exciting, what possibly excited Peter the most was the thought of giving Dr. Banner his present—a small, personal robot that Peter had been working on with Tony for the past two months. Peter and his mentor had been meticulous with the details; every bit of programming correlating directly to Bruce Banner’s personal habits and preferences. Peter felt proud of all the work he had done on the man’s present, and he was certain the scientist would be pleased with his work as well.

Once Happy dropped Peter off in front of the Tower, the boy hurried inside and went straight to Tony’s lab.

“Mr. Stark! Is the present all ready?” Peter asked as he dropped his backpack onto a table before approaching the man.

“Just about. Putting a few finishing touches on her.” Tony said as he tightened a screw on the bot. “How was school today?”

“Better since you didn’t show up in front of my school with the royal family of Asgard.” Peter teased as he moved next to Tony, leaning up against the workbench. The man smirked for a moment as he continued his work.

“Kids still bothering you?”

“Hardly. Principal Morita has actually been super cool. He keeps telling the other students to stop bothering me. I didn’t even realize he noticed stuff that went on among the students.”

“Hmm. Well, it’s nice that you have such a proactive principal.” Tony said as if he had nothing to do with the principal’s involvement in putting an end to the rumors regarding Peter.

“I think so.” Peter hummed softly before he began to rock back and forth against the counter in excitement. “Dr. Banner’s gonna like this a lot, huh?”

“If I know Brucie, and I do, he’s going to love it, Kid.”

“Good! When can we give it to him?” Tony laughed.

“Hold up a minute, Underoos. We have a while until the party. Why don’t you start on your homework?”

“Whaaat?” Peter whined in protest. Tony chuckled.

“Thor and Loki took Bruce out for the day—we’re having a surprise party. Cap helped the girls decorate the lounge earlier while his idiot sidekicks went out and got a bunch of balloons. I’m having a cake brought over in a bit, and we’re also getting dinner delivered from Bruce’s favorite restaurant.” The man said as he made the final adjustment to the man’s present. ”There. She’s all ready, so you still have…“ Tony glanced down at his watch before looking back up at Peter,” about two hours to work on your homework.

“Oh come on, Mr. Stark.” Peter whined. “Let’s just hang out.”

“Are you trying to tell me that you don’t intend to go out on patrol tonight?” Tony asked as he raised an eyebrow. Peter avoided making eye contact with the man, whistling innocently. Tony smirked at the boy’s response. “That’s what I thought.” Peter pouted and Tony pointed a finger at the teen. “Don’t even try it. You only have a few days of school left before your break. C’mon, I’ll help you.”

“Really?” Peter asked hopefully.

“Yeah. What do you have to work on?” Tony asked as he moved to start a fresh pot of coffee. Peter grabbed his backpack and opened it, pulling out a messy pile of books and slightly crumpled papers.

“Could you help me with my chemistry? Most of it’s easy, but there’s this one formula that I just can’t seem to apply correctly.” Peter said, clearly frustrated.

“Sure, Bud.” Tony said as he pulled a stool up beside the boy. “Which one is giving you the most trouble?”

* * *

Tony had helped Peter with all of his homework, even the things Peter didn’t really need help with, but the teenager found that he didn’t really mind—it was just that much more time he got to spend with his mentor. Just after they had finished up Peter’s Spanish homework, Friday’s voice was heard in the lab.

“Boss, Mister Odinson would like to inform you that they are on their way back to the tower.”

"Perfect timing." Tony said with a grin. “Thanks, Friday. See, Pete? Doesn’t it feel good to have your homework finished?”

“Yeah, yeah. You were right.” Peter said begrudgingly.

“Music to my ears.”

“Please stop. I’m getting a headache from rolling my eyes too hard.” Tony laughed and gave Peter a playful shove which made the boy grin.

“C’,mon, Petey. Let’s take this bot upstairs.” The two of them proceeded to head to the lounge, Tony flicking off the light as they walked into the room. All of the Avengers began to talk in the dimly lit lounge filled with balloons until Friday alerted them that Bruce and the Odinsons were on their way upstairs. Everyone stopped speaking until the elevator doors opened, Friday automatically lifting the lights as the doctor stepped onto the floor.

“Surprise!” Everyone shouted. Bruce put his hand onto his chest, eyes widening as he looked ast his friends surrounded by a ridiculous amount of balloons and streamers. Tony rolled his eyes.

“All right, Brucie. Who let it slip?” The others looked at Tony in confusion and Bruce laughed awkwardly.

“Am I that bad of an actor?”

“You’re terrible.” Tony said, and Bruce laughed again.

“Nobody told me… I just kind of figured it out when I overheard Sam ordering a bunch of balloons.”

“Idiot.” Bucky said as he jabbed Sam with his metal elbow.

“Ow! Watch it!” Sam griped.

“I’m really happy. Thanks, Guys. This is a great birthday gift.”

“And we have even more of those, Brucie Bear.” Tony said, and Peter looked at the man excitedly.

“Let’s do presents first!” Peter said, and Tony laughed as he turned to Bruce.

“That okay with you, Birthday Boy?” When the doctor good-naturedly agreed, Peter grinned.

“Close your eyes for a minute, Dr. Banner!” Bruce chuckled, obeying the order as Tony helped Peter get the robot they had hidden from view behind one of the couches. Once placed in front of the doctor, Peter watched eagerly as he told the man to open his eyes, genuine surprise written across his face as he looked at the robot.

“Did you make this, Tony?” The man asked as he began to examine it gleefully.

”I made part of it, but I can’t take all the credit. I’d say Peter did more work on it than I did.”

“Really?” Bruce asked as he looked at the teenager and then back to his gift. “You’ve got talent, Peter. I honestly can’t tell your work apart from Tony’s.” Peter beamed with pride before moving to give the doctor a quick hug.

“Thank you, Dr. Banner. I hope you like it!” Bruce looked surprised by the hug for a brief moment before he returned it, smiling gently down at the boy.

“I love it, Peter.” He said as he looked up to see all of his teammates smiling at the scene. Peter pulled away after a moment, smiling at Bruce as he returned to his place beside Tony.

“Okay, open mine next!” Thor said, seemingly just as excited about the ordeal as Peter was. The teenager watched happily as Bruce continued to open his presents, so focused on the scene before him that he completely missed the proud look that Tony was giving him.


	19. Wednesday, December 19th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pure crack, but it was so fun to write.

As Peter was heading home from school, his phone started to vibrate, and he pulled it out of his pocket to see that May was calling him.

“Hi, May! What’s up?”

“One of the girls called in sick and right now we’re understaffed as it is. I’m going to have to work until late tonight.”

“Awww that sucks! I was looking forward to hanging out with you!”

“I know, Sweetie. But since I’m working a double tonight, I will be able to leave a few hours early on Christmas Eve.”

“Well, that’s good! Don’t work too hard, okay?”

“I’ll try not to.” May said as she laughed softly. I’ve got to go, Peter. I probably won’t see you tonight. I might not get back until the middle of the night.”

“Oh… hey, May. I might spend the night at the tower if you aren’t coming home.”

“Okay, just make sure that you send me a message so I know where you are. Love you!

“Okay, love you too!” Peter said as he ended the call. After a few moments of deliberation, he turned around and headed for the subway, deciding to go to the tower for the night. Once he was on the subway, he quickly sent May a text to let her know where he would be before he forgot. Twenty minutes later, he walked into the tower.

“Hello, Peter!” Friday greeted cheerily as he stepped into the elevator.

“Hi, Friday! Where’s Mr. Stark?”

“I’m afraid he’s out doing some Christmas shopping, Peter.”

“Oh…is anyone here?”

“The only person in the tower at the moment is Sergeant Barnes. He is in the lounge reading a book.”

“Oh… okay. Take me to the lounge, please.”

“Right away, Peter.” Friday said as the lift began to move. A moment later, he stepped out onto the overly festive floor. The super soldier turned slightly as he heard the doors open.

“Peter!” The man greeted as he put a finger into his book to mark his place. “Thought I wouldn’t see you again until the weekend.”

“Yeah, but my Aunt May had to work late unexpectedly. I just didn’t really feel like being alone tonight so I came here.”

“I understand that, Kid. What I don’t understand is why I still haven’t met your aunt.”

“You’ll meet her soon! We’ll both be here for Christmas.”

“Good. I’m looking forward to it.” The smirk on the super soldier’s face had Peter looking completely unamused. He narrowed his eyes at the man beside him. “Don’t get any ideas…besides, she likes Thor.” Peter said in an attempt to deter the man from hitting on his aunt.

“Well, if she likes Thor, then she is going to love me.” Bucky said with a lopsided grin. Peter pointed two fingers at his eyes before turning them to face the man next to him.

“I’ll be watching you, Sergeant Barnes.”

“Sergeant Barnes? That’s an awfully formal way to address your future uncle. Just call me Bucky.” Peter picked up a throw pillow and smacked the Sergeant with it, causing the man to laugh out loud. Bucky leaned over to grab another throw pillow, and soon the two were engaged in a pillow fight. Peter hopped off the couch and dove behind an armchair, grabbing another pillow in the process. A moment later he peeked out of his hiding spot just long enough to throw the pillow at Bucky. It hit the man squarely in the face.

“That’s it, Kid! You’re dead!” Bucky said with a laugh as he picked up the pillow and charged behind the chair. Peter was giggling as he crawled around the side of the chair towards the wall. Clutching his pillow, he stood up and began to run up the wall and towards the ceiling. “That’s not fair!” Bucky shouted as he lobbed the pillow in the teenager’s direction. It hit Peter’s shoulder and the boy clutched his shoulder dramatically.

“Ooooowww! You’re so mean to me. I’m going to tell Aunt May!” The boy teased as he finished his ascent to the ceiling.

“Ha. Ha. Very funny. Get down here.”

“No.” Peter said with a smirk. Bucky picked up another pillow and flung it in Peter’s direction, but the boy simply sidestepped it and grinned smugly at the man below him. When Bucky bent down to pick up more ammunition, Peter threw the pillow he had been holding straight at the man’s head.

“Ouch! How hard are you throwing these to make them hurt?” The man asked as he threw another pillow at the ceiling. Peter caught it and snickered.

“Thanks for the ammo!” Bucky gave him a grumpy frown before he picked up a blanket, tying one end into a loop.

“Fine, I’ll lasso you down myself!”

“Go ahead and try!” Peter said as he began to dance around the ceiling. Bucky swung the blanket several times, and though it grazed the teenager, Peter avoided being caught each time. As the boy began to get cocky, he teased Bucky by walking off of the ceiling and down onto the wall. Peter continued leaping back and forth to keep away from the blanket, laughing gleefully each time he avoided it. A moment later, Bucky pretended to swing to the right, effectively faking Peter out and catching his arm in the blanket lasso.

“Yikes!” Peter shouted as the loop tightened around his arm. He managed to free himself just as Bucky was pulling him off the wall. The soldier huffed in annoyance and chucked another pillow at Peter as the boy ran back to the ceiling.

“All right, Peter Pan. Come back down here and fight me like a man!” As soon as the words left Bucky’s lips, the sound of someone clearing their throat was heard from the entrance to the lounge. Both Peter and Bucky looked toward the sound to see Tony, Steve, and Natasha standing in the doorway watching them. Peter bit back a grin as he ran across the ceiling and then down the wall, sailing straight into Tony’s arms—purely to aggravate his opponent.

“Mr. Staaaark, Uncle Bucky is being really mean to me.” Peter whined before turning to smirk at the super soldier.

“He’s being mean to you?” Tony asked seriously, entering dad-mode so quickly that he didn’t realize Peter was joking.

“Uncle Bucky?” Steve asked with a raised brow as he looked at his friend. The older man rolled his eyes and Peter started laughing loudly. Steve and Tony both looked lost, but Natasha gave the long-haired man an amused look.

“Asking about May again?”

“I really don’t get what the problem is with wanting to meet her. Stark calls her “Aunt Hottie” so she must be pretty easy on the eyes.” Peter narrowed his eyes at Tony who shot a death glare in Bucky’s direction before looking back down at the teenager.

“I mean…May’s hot, Kid.”

“EW!”

“That being said, she is also the kindest woman I know, and I will personally kill anyone who harms a single hair on her head. That includes you, Barnes.”

“Who said anything about hurting her? I just want to see her!” Bucky said in exasperation. Peter snickered as he lightly elbowed Tony’s side.

“Earlier I told him that May likes Thor, and he said that if she likes Thor, she will love him.” Both Tony and Natasha laughed out loud and Steve was clearly trying not to laugh as well.

“Aw c’mon, Steve.” Bucky said, looking betrayed.

“I’m sorry, Buck. You’re pretty much the most handsome, charming man I know, but this is _**Thor**_ we’re talking about.” Bucky rolled his eyes dramatically and Peter ran over to the Super Soldier to give him a hug.

“We’re only teasing. Kind of.” The boy said with a smirk. Bucky laughed as he reached up to ruffle Peter’s hair.

“Yeah, Kid. I know. Still going to charm your aunt off her feet.”

“I’m still going to be watching you.”

“Fair enough.” Bucky said with a chuckle.

“Pete, what are you doing here, anyway? May working late?” Tony asked as he stepped forward to put his hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“Yeah, May’s schedule changed so she has to work all night. I’d rather be here with you than by myself.” Tony smiled and gave Peter’s shoulder a squeeze.

“A nice surprise for me then. Did you finish your homework yet?”

“I did most of it in study hall.”

“So not all of it?”

“Can’t I finish it after dinner?”

“No, because the last several times you asked that, you fell asleep without ever finishing it. You need good grades to get into MIT.”

“I never said I’m going to MIT!”

“But you’re a smart kid, so you’ll make the right choice.” Tony said as a smile played at the corner of his lips. “I’ll order dinner while Barnes cleans up the living room.” The billionaire said as he threw a pointed look in the super soldier’s direction. “Go finish your homework.”

“Dad.” Bucky said between fake coughs. Tony gave the man a smug smirk as Peter’s cheeks flushed slightly.

“Okay, okay. I’m going.” The teen said as he walked over and picked his backpack up off the floor. Peter hurried off to his room to finish his homework; a smile on his face as Bucky’s remark lingered in the back of his mind.


	20. Thursday, December 20th

Peter groaned as he woke up to his alarm early the next morning. The last thing he wanted to do was get out of bed and go to school. At that moment, two days seemed like far too long a time to wait for his vacation to start. Peter snoozed his alarm twice until finally pulling himself out of bed at nearly six-thirty. He brushed his teeth, splashed some water onto his face, and then went into his closet and pulled on some blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt. He grabbed a sweater and his bag, dragging himself out of his bedroom and toward the kitchen to find something to eat. To his surprise, he found Tony up and drinking coffee at the kitchen table.

“Mr. Stark?” Peter asked with a yawn as he entered the kitchen and opened up the fridge. “Why’re you up so early?”

“I fell asleep before one last night. It’s strange to wake up before the sun. I’m not sure if I like it or not.” The man said off-handedly as he took another sip of coffee.

“I can tell you that I definitely hate it.” Peter said with a groan as he shut the fridge, not finding anything to eat. "I don’t have much time before I gotta go. Do we have any pop tarts or something?”

“Pop tarts? No, we’ll swing through McDonalds on the way to school. Might not be the healthiest, but it will certainly keep you full longer than pop tarts will.”

“We? Mr. Stark, you don’t have to take me to school!”

“I don’t have to, but I’m going to. Are you all set?” Tony asked as he stood up, gulping down the last bit of his coffee.

“Yeah…or you could call my school and tell them that I’m sick?” Peter asked hopefully. Tony laughed in response.

“Nice try. C’mon, Kid. You can do this. Tomorrow night and you’ll be back here starting your vacation.”

“I guess it is tomorrow night, huh?”

“Sure is. Let’s get out of here.” Tony said as he grabbed his jacket, and Peter followed him down to the garage. After hopping into one of Tony’s more discreet cars, the two took off in the direction of Peter’s school.

* * *

After swinging through McDonald’s and picking up breakfast for Peter and more coffee for Tony, the man began to slow down as he neared the high school.

“Can I drop you here, or do you want to walk?”

“I choose the third option where we drive back to the tower and I go back to bed.”

“Funny, I don’t remember offering that option.”

“I thought maybe you just forgot to mention that one.” A smiled played at the corner of Tony’s lips as the boy spoke.

“Nice try, Underoos. Okay to drop you off in front of your school? All the windows are tinted.” Tony said, and it suddenly occurred to Peter that his mentor must have specifically chosen to drive him in a black sedan instead of one of his flashy sports cars specifically to make him more comfortable.

“Yeah, it’s okay.” Peter said as he finished up his breakfast sandwich. “Thanks, Mr. Stark.”

“For what?”

“What do you mean, ‘For what?’”? You left the tower at 6:45 to drive me to school in an ordinary looking car and bought me breakfast on the way! You’re really the best.” Tony smiled as he pulled up in front of the school, the boy’s praise melting his heart more than he’d care to admit.

“It’s nothing, Kid. Oh. You’ll need money for lunch, right?” Tony asked as he shifted to pull his wallet from his pocket.

“No no no. It’s okay, Mr. Stark.”

“Oh, come on. Take it.” Tony said as he pulled out a crisp hundred dollar bill and held it out for Peter to take. The teen’s eyes widened and he looked at the billionaire in surprise.

“Mr. Stark, how much do you think lunch costs?” Tony looked confused for a moment before taking another hundred dollar bill from his wallet.

“No! Mr. Stark, lunch only costs like five bucks.”

“That’s it?”

“The breakfast you just bought me only cost three dollars…”

“Really?” Peter squinted at the man and tilted his head. Tony scratched the back of his head. “I mean, I don’t pay that much attention. I just kind of hand people my card.”

“Oh my GOSH,” Peter said in exasperation, which made Tony laugh sheepishly as he pushed the two hundred dollars towards Peter again.

“C’mon, Kid, take it.”

“Mr. Stark, it’s really fine, I—“ Peter was cut off as Tony leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

“Fine, have it your way. Now get out of my car before you’re late for school.” Peter looked at Tony in surprise as he slowly nodded.

“O-okay. Bye, Mr. Stark. Thanks again.” He said as he slid out of the vehicle. Tony waved to him with a smug smirk before Peter closed the door. The teen watched the billionaire speed off before walking into the school and heading for his locker, still distracted by Tony’s kiss to his cheek.

“Hey, Peter! Only one more day left after today. I can’t wait to be done!”

“Hm? Oh, yeah…yeah, me too.”

“You okay?”

“Oh, yeah. Mr. Stark was just acting really weird this morning.”

“You saw Mr. Stark this morning?”

“May worked overnight, so I stayed at the tower. He just dropped me off. “

“Dude, Tony Stark dropping you off at school is still the craziest thing to me.” Ned whispered. Peter nodded distractedly in response as Ned continued speaking. “Anyway, did you see that trailer for the new game I sent you?”

“Oh, no. I woke up late so I didn’t really check my phone.” Peter said as he reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. As he did so, two crisp one hundred dollar bills fell out of his pocket. Both boys stared at it in surprise before Peter quickly bent down to pick it up before anyone else saw the money. “Oh my GOD. What is wrong with him?”

“Who? Where did you get all that money?”

“Mr. Stark was trying to give me lunch money, but I told him I didn’t need it. He must have snuck it into my pocket when he kissed me goodbye.”

“Two hundred dollars for lunch?”

“He is very out of touch with reality sometimes.”

“Wait, Iron Man kissed you goodbye?”

“Oh…yeah. I normally give him a hug, so I thought it was weird, but now I know he was just trying to distract me so he could shove money into my pocket.”

“Dude…what is your life?”

“I really don’t know, Ned.” Peter said as he slammed his locker shut and they made their way to class. The moment they were seated, Peter pulled out his phone to text Tony.

P: YOU’RE SO SNEAKY

T: 

P: I was wondering why you kissed me goodbye.

T: Kisses are the most pleasant distraction technique of all.

P: Mr. Stark, $200 is like 2 months of lunches.

T: Or one $5 lunch and a little shopping?

P: 

T: What?

P: That would be so irresponsible!

T: Why? I can give you more money any time you want some.

P: That’s your money!

T: Yes, and I have more than I know what to do with. So just let me know when you need it, or you’ll end up finding wads of cash in all your pockets.

P: OMG you’re ridiculous.

T: Love you too

P: <_<

P: ♥ see you tomorrow

Peter slipped his phone away and sighed softly. Lately he had begun to feel even closer to Tony than he already had felt. Though he wouldn’t admit it to anyone, he definitely thought of Tony as his dad. Peter reached up and touched his cheek before sighing softly. As much as Peter wished Tony really were his father, he knew the kiss didn’t mean anything—it was just a distraction for Tony to get his way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uwu


	21. Friday, December 21st

There were only two hours left until Christmas vacation, but time seemed to be moving at a snail’s pace. Peter went to his next class and watched the clock as another hour slowly passed, feeling terribly antsy by the time class finally ended. On the way to his final class, Betty, one of the reporters for the school newspaper, stopped him in the hallway.

“Oh, Peter! I was wondering if you could do me a big favor?”

“Uh, what is it?”

“I was wondering if I could interview you for—“

“No, I’m not going to talk about the rumors.”

“Good. Because I was going to ask you about the Decathlon Team. I’m speaking to several different members.”

“Oh.” Peter said sheepishly. “Well, that’s fine, but we have class, so…”

“After school.”

“Oh, well I have someone picking me up…”

  
“I swear it will only take five minutes. Is that okay?”

“Well...I guess five minutes will be okay.”

“You’re a lifesaver. Thanks! Meet me in room 204 after school, okay?” Betty said before running off to her class before the bell could ring. Peter sighed and headed into his next class, quickly texting Happy to let him know to pick him up five minutes later than normal.

The last class of the day felt like the longest of all. When the bell finally rang, all of the students charged from the room, eager to go home and start their winter vacation. Peter was just as ready to leave the school as the other students were, but he did not forget his promise to Betty, going to meet her in room 204 the moment he stepped out of class. He found that the girl was already waiting for him.

“Hey, Peter! Thanks for coming. I promise to make it quick.”

“Okay, no problem.” The boy said as he sat down across from Betty.

“All right, So I just want to know what made you interested in joining Academic Decathlon?”

“Oh, well…to be honest, I just started it because I knew it would look good on a college application someday. It has turned out to be a lot of fun though. I would definitely continue to do it even if didn’t have a positive impact on my future.”

“Nice answer. What’s the hardest part about being on the team?” The girl asked, taking notes.

“Probably everything you have to study and memorize. Some areas are pretty easy, and others are really difficult for me. It can eat up a lot of my time.”

“Perfect. Last question. Is there anything that makes you nervous?”

“Oh, sure. A lot of things.”

“Can you give me an example?”

“Well, like, if the score is really close, and I think I know the answer so I buzz in…even though I know the right answer, I panic a bit like, ‘What if I’m wrong and I lose us the competition?’ Something I need to work on, I guess.” Peter said with a laugh.

“That makes sense. Is there anything else that makes you nervous?”

“Not really.”

“Not a thing?”

“No?” Peter asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“What about people finding out about your relationship with Tony Stark?” Peter’s eyes narrowed at the question.

“You said we weren’t talking about the rumors.”

“We’re not. I’m not asking you to confirm or deny any of the rumors going around. Which, by the way, Principal Morita has been trying very hard to put a stop to. When I went to drop off a copy of the school paper in his office, I overheard him talking on the phone with someone. It seems that they are drawing up plans to build a new wing that will be exclusively designed to house a large, new laboratory with state of the art technology. I wonder where the school suddenly came up with all that money, don’t you?” Peter’s eyes widened, and Betty continued. “There’s no denying that you have some sort of relationship with Tony Stark. You tell everyone that you’re an intern at Stark Industries, and yet Tony Stark himself came down to the school when you were in trouble and got you completely off the hook. Not only is he a famous billionaire, but he’s one of the most admired superheroes of our time. He must be terribly busy, and I really can’t imagine that he would do that for all his interns. I don’t care about any of the rumors—I want to know the truth. What is Tony Stark to you?” Peter stood up angrily, grabbing his backpack.

“This was never about academic decathlon was it? You just wanted to interrogate me!”

“I’m not interrogating you. I just want to know the truth. It’s a simple question. Is the answer complicated?”

“I’m leaving.” Peter announced, but Betty suddenly bolted out of her chair and stood in front of the door.

“Let me out.”

“Not until you answer my question.” Peter stared at her coldly. It would be so easy to get past her, but he couldn’t use his powers in front of her, and he definitely didn’t want to hurt her.

“Betty, I’m not talking. This is my personal life, and I don’t need you to tell the whole school about it.”

“So I’m right?” The girl asked excitedly. “It is more than an internship!” Peter clenched his jaw as his eyes darted about. If only he could crawl up to the ceiling and then out the window without the girl realizing that he had superpowers. Betty observed him carefully.

“Is he your father?” Peter turned his eyes back to her, his face expressionless as he tried to think of a way to get past the girl without harming her or revealing his alter-ego. Betty continued to study him. “Is he your lover?” That question startled Peter from his thoughts, and he shot the girl a look of pure disgust. The girl raised an eyebrow, trying her first question again as she now clearly had Peter’s attention. “Is he your father?” Peter said nothing for a moment before swallowing hard.

“Please let me go. My ride must be waiting for me.” Betty stared at him for a moment before stepping to the side. As Peter reached to open the door, the girl put her hand over his.

“If Tony Stark wasn’t your father, you would deny it. Your silence speaks for itself.” Peter didn’t know what to do or to say so he simply shook his head.

“No, it doesn’t.” The boy said before running from the classroom and straight through the school, not stopping until he got into the back seat of the car Happy was driving.

“You okay, Kid?” Happy asked as he turned around to look at Peter.

“Yeah…I’m fine.” He lied. Peter settled back into his seat with a sigh, staring out the window as Happy began driving him back to the tower. He shuddered slightly as he reflected upon the way he had been interrogated by his peer. However, the anxiety he felt began to slowly melt away as Peter stared out at the twinkling lights and snow-covered trees. Peter consoled himself by remembering that he had two and a half weeks of vacation from school. Most of the rumors had been dying down, and he was sure that someone else would be the center of attention by the time the break was over. A few minutes later, Happy pulled up to the tower and Peter thanked the man as he got out of the car, leaving his problems in the back seat of the car as he headed to the top of the tower to start his Christmas vacation.


	22. Saturday, December 22nd

Peter awoke at seven o’clock to the sound of his phone vibrating violently on his nightstand. He buried his head under his pillow, wishing the sound away. However, as he became slightly more alert, his curiosity got the best of him, and he reached out blindly for his phone. Once he had retrieved it, Peter pulled it under the pillows and blankets with him, rubbing his eyes as he saw that he had two missed calls from Ned as well as a plethora of unread texts from his best friend. As Peter began to scan the messages, he clicked on a link his friend and sent him. When the page loaded, his eyes widened in horror at what he saw. He briefly scanned the news article before going back to his friend’s messages, scanning those as well.

_Peter, answer your phone._

_What is going on? Did you know about this?_

_How did the newspaper get your name?_

_Did you really confirm it?_

Peter buried his face in his hands, wishing that the news article he had just read was a bad dream. The article had several paparazzi photos of him and Tony together, repeated rumors that had been floating around his school, and contained an “official” statement from Peter Parker himself that he was, in fact, the son of Tony Stark. Just from skimming the article, he knew that Betty must have had something to do with it. But how would a high school student get something like that published in a big paper? Peter was unsure, but there was one thing he was certain of, and that was that Tony would not be happy when he found out. Peter’s mind raced at a mile a minute as he tried to come up with a way to tell Tony before the man found out for himself. After all, it was so early that Tony was most likely still asleep. After deciding to just tell Tony the truth about the rumors at school and how others misunderstood his silence as confirming said rumors, Peter quickly rolled out of bed to head towards Tony’s room. As Peter walked down the hallway, he noticed the door to Tony’s room was open. Odd. A few more steps and Peter suddenly heard the man groan loudly from the living room.

“Yeah, I know. I know, it’s all over the news! …No. I have no idea.” Peter gulped as he crept into the living room to see Tony staring at the muted TV as he spoke on his phone. He saw a picture of himself with Tony on the morning news, and Peter bit his bottom lip anxiously. Tony definitely did not look happy.

“This is such a mess.” Tony said as he sat on the couch, running his free hand through his hair in frustration. “Well, yeah I’m pissed off. Everything is ruined now!” The man said angrily. Peter suddenly felt tears pool in his eyes as he watched Tony from the entryway. He knew the situation wasn’t ideal, but was the rumor really ** _that_** horrible for Tony? “Yes, it is! This isn’t how I wanted—“ Tony stopped and turned around as he heard a noise behind him. As the genius whipped around, Peter realized that tears were rolling down his cheeks. The instant Tony made eye contact with him, Peter turned and fled, running all the way back to his room as he jumped back into his bed and hugged his pillow. Though Peter was a sensitive boy, it wasn’t often that he cried. However, in that moment, he felt as if his heart had just broken into a million pieces. The man Peter loved and had idolized since he was a small child sounded so upset at the tabloid news reporting Peter to be his son. Peter tried to be a good hero; he tried to be kind and helpful. Did he talk too much? Was he too nerdy? Why was Mr. Stark so angry at a simple rumor? Peter lay in his bed, crying softly. A few moments later, he heard a soft knock at the door before it opened. The boy curled into himself, hugging his pillow even more tightly.

“Peter? Can we talk?” The teenager heard Tony ask. The boy swallowed hard and shrugged, not turning around. He felt Tony sit beside him.

“Hey, Bud. Can you look at me?” Tony’s voice was incredibly soft, and after attempting to wipe his tears on his pillow, Peter rolled onto his back, looking up at the man. Tony frowned, reaching out to brush a few stray tears from Peter’s face with the pad of his thumb. “Why are you crying, Peter?”

“I’m not crying.” Peter said, causing Tony to roll his eyes.

“You are the worst liar that I’ve ever met.” The man laughed softly, hesitating before he spoke again. “I take it you’ve seen the news today.” Peter nodded in response. “Is that why you’re so upset?” Tony persisted, but the teenager just shrugged and looked up toward the ceiling. The genius sighed softly before he started to speak once again. “Kid, listen...”

“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. Please don’t be mad at me.” Peter said as another tear escaped from his eye. “Remember how I said there were those rumors going around the school? Actually, they were about you being my dad. And I’m not good with words like you are…and then last night one of the reporters for the school newspaper tricked me because she said she wanted to interview me about Academic Decathlon, but she totally lied. And she wanted to know my relationship with you and I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t sure how to explain it without telling her that I’m Spiderman, but she thought that meant I wasn’t denying it and that you **_are_** my dad and…and…” Peter had hardly taken a breath during his ramble, suddenly realizing that tears were streaming from his eyes once again. “Please don’t hate me, Mr. Stark. I’ll tell people that I’m Spiderman, okay? Just—“

“Whoa, slow down there, Pete. None of this is your fault. I’m not mad at you, I definitely don’t hate you, and you most certainly will **_not_** tell anyone that you’re Spiderman.”

“Y-you’re not mad at me?” Peter asked in confusion.

“Of course I’m not.”

“Oh.” Peter rubbed one of his eyes with the heel of his palm and Tony gently tapped his arm.

“I want to know why you’ve been crying.”

“No reason.” Peter mumbled, and Tony rolled his eyes again.

“Yes, because you always cry for no reason, don’t you?” Peter looked up at Tony for a moment before rolling onto his stomach, burying his face into one of his pillows. The boy didn’t want to tell Tony what he was really thinking, but he also knew that if Tony really wanted to know, he’d get it out of him eventually.

“Just ‘cuz…” He tried once more.

“Peter.” Tony warned gently. The teenager remained silent for a few moments before he finally spoke up, his voice muffled by the pillow.

“It’s just that… It’s not a big deal, but… I mean…well, I know these rumors suck and stuff, but would it really be that horrible if people thought I was your son for a while? It’s not like I really am…I just… I wouldn’t be mad if people thought you were my dad for a while. I mean, I get that every kid wishes you were their dad and no one really wishes for me to be their son, so I guess it’s kind of different, but…you sounded so angry on the phone…you never get upset when the news spreads rumors about you...” Tony reached out to run his fingers through Peter’s hair soothingly as he realized that the boy wasn’t upset by the news reports, but because he thought Tony was upset by them.

“Do you know who I was on the phone with?”

“Miss Potts or one of your publicists.”

“Wrong. I was on the phone with May.” Peter rolled halfway onto his side, staring up at Tony in surprise.

“ _My_ May?”

“Sure was.”

“But…you’re not mad at May, are you?”

“Of course not. I’m mad at the people who published the article. They ruined the surprise I’ve been working on for months… I was just asking May what she thought I should do.”

“Surprise? What surprise? How did they ruin it? How could May help you know what to do?” Peter tilted his head in confusion. Tony looked down at the boy silently for a moment before standing up.

“Come with me. I’ll show you.” Peter slowly rolled off his bed, pressing close to Tony as the man wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Peter’s mind was racing as the man lead him down the hallway to his office. As they approached his desk, Tony removed his arm from around Peter and sat in his large, plush chair, leaning down to open one of the large drawers that held numerous important files. As soon as the billionaire opened the drawer, Peter noticed a large yellow envelope laying across the top of the other files. Tony grabbed it and straightened up before nudging the drawer shut with his foot.

“I was going to give you this on Christmas. Well, not really give you…tell you. No, I was going to ask you… you’re definitely old enough to know if you don’t want this… you can say no. Don’t feel pressured to agree, okay?” Peter looked more confused than ever—seeing the great Tony Stark stumble over his words was something that anyone rarely witnessed. “May was supposed to be here too, but now I have to let you know about it early…” Tony began to feel nervous as he held out the envelope for Peter. The teenager took it slowly, opening it carefully as he pulled out the papers. Tony held his breath as he watched Peter’s face. The boy looked at the papers in his hand, confusion written across his face as he scanned the first page. Suddenly, the boy’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. He glanced up at Tony and then back at the papers before lifting his eyes to meet his mentor’s once again.

“This…you…” Peter stammered and Tony began to speak quickly.

“Nothing’s official yet, but that is the official paperwork I received from my lawyer last week. We have an appointment on the 26th if you want me to sign them and make it official. I’ll understand if you don’t want me to, but—“ Tony was interrupted by Peter throwing himself into the man’s arms. The teenager buried his face into Tony’s neck, sobbing, and a big smile spread across the billionaire’s face as he wrapped his arms tightly around Peter. “Is that a yes, then?” The boy nodded profusely before pulling away just enough to look at Tony’s face which was blurred by his tears.

“You really wanna adopt me, Mr. Stark? It’s for real?”

“It most certainly is. And you don’t have to worry about anything, okay? May has known since the beginning.” Tony explained as he rubbed his hand gently over Peter’s back. “You’ll still spend weekdays with May and weekends with me. The only thing that will really change is that I will share custody with May legally. God forbid something happens to May before you turn eighteen, I won’t have to fight anyone for you to stay here with me. Also, if anything should happen to me, no one’s going to question why a kid they never heard of is inheriting Stark Industries. It’s going to be a lot easier to conceal your identity as Spiderman if the public recognizes you as my son.”

“When I…I inherit **_what?_** ” Peter asked in shock. Tony chuckled.

“That’s been a done deal for a long time now. Stark Industries will be yours someday. When that day comes, you no longer have to worry about rumors or backlash. Everyone will expect you to inherit the company.”

“But…but Mr. Stark, you’re not old. You might have real kids of your own, so you should—“

“Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. It doesn’t matter, Kid. You’re the one who made me a father.” Peter started to cry again, and Tony hugged him tightly before reaching up to run his fingers through the teen’s curls. After a few minutes, Tony broke the silence. “I’ll protect you as much as I can, but as my kid, you will be in the spotlight a lot more. You’ll have rumors to deal with too…do you think you can handle it?”

“I…I can tell people that you’re my dad?”

“Of course you can. We’ll actually have to schedule a press conference about it soon. That’s why I had to tell you today.”

“I’ll be okay then, Mr. Stark.”

“C’mon, Kid. You can at least call me ‘Tony’ now, right?” The man asked, and Peter laughed through his tears as he rubbed his eyes.

“Okay, Tony.” Peter said, biting his lip in thought for a moment. “…Dad?” The boy asked softly, and the billionaire smiled.

“You know what? I like that even better.”

* * *

Ever since Tony had shown Peter his adoption papers earlier that morning, Peter had stuck to Tony like glue, not wishing to leave the man’s side for a moment. While Tony had his morning coffee, Peter had called May and thanked her for allowing Tony to adopt him. He then asked her how she had kept the secret for so long before he chattered excitedly to her until she had to leave for work. After May, Peter called Ned and explained his entire morning in detail; leaving out only how much he had cried. Tony watched Peter in amusement as he finished off his coffee before getting up to put his mug into the sink. As he came back over, he knelt beside Peter so he could hear Ned spazzing on the other end of the phone. Peter grinned at Tony who chuckled softly before he stood back up, kissing the top of Peter’s head before he started to walk out of the kitchen.

“Where are you going?” Peter asked worriedly, as he muted his phone’s microphone.

“I’m just going to take a shower.”

“Oh…okay.” Peter pouted as Tony walked away before unmuting his phone as he continued his conversation with Ned. Once Tony returned from his shower a short time later, Peter ended his conversation with his friend.

“Hey, some of the others should be awake by now. Want to have breakfast with them?” Tony asked.

“Yes!” Peter said as he stood up, following Tony toward the elevator. “Um, Mr. St—Dad?” Peter grinned bashfully as Tony laughed.

“Hm?”

“Do the others know already?” Peter asked as they stepped into the lift.

“Nope. The only people who knew before you were May and my lawyer.” Peter smiled as he hugged Tony’s arm.

“Are we going to tell them now?”

“That’s up to you, Bud. We will need to tell them soon though. We’ll have to have that press conference tomorrow.”

“That’s so soon!”

“I know…but it’s best to do it sooner rather than later.” Peter nodded in understanding as he continued clinging to his father’s side. Tony, who was secretly a very affectionate man, relished how clingy Peter was being; especially since he knew it would not last once the boy recovered from the initial shock of the adoption. He put an arm around Peter as the elevator door opened and they stepped out onto the floor, making their way to the kitchen.

“I want you to tell them, okay?” Peter asked softly. He had already announced his adoption twice, but it still did not feel real. Perhaps if he heard Tony say it, it might seem more real.

“I can do that.” Tony said as they walked into the kitchen where the others were seated around the large table, eating donuts. “All right, People. Listen up. I have an announcement.” Tony said as he entered the room. Everyone turned to stare at the man, and Natasha frowned when she noticed the way that Peter was clinging to Tony.

“Peter, are you okay?” The woman asked softly, and Peter nodded quickly.

“Is this about those rumors in the news?” Bucky asked tactlessly, earning a strong jab in the ribs from his best friend.

“It is and it isn’t. This was supposed to be a Christmas surprise, but with everything that happened, I had to talk with Peter earlier about it. I’m adopting him on Wednesday. It has been in the works for months. I got the official paperwork from my lawyer last week. Nothing will really change—though May and I will be sharing custody of Peter. He will continue to spend his weekdays with her and his weekends here. Any questions?” The others stared at Tony in shock for a moment. The genius stood there, grinning at them before he looked down at Peter who was still lightly grasping the back of his shirt. 

“You okay, Bud?” He asked, and Peter nodded before looking up at Tony. “I’m just really happy.” He said softly, and Tony used his arm to hug Peter to his side.

“This is wonderful news, and I for one think we should celebrate!” Thor said jovially. The others agreed as they all turned to congratulate both Tony and Peter. The rest of the day Peter spent goofing off and playing games with the heroes that lived in the tower. However, he refused to leave Tony’s side, even following the man to the kitchen while he refilled his coffee. At first, Tony thought the behavior to be cute, though, by the end of the day, he was starting to worry about his son. The day flew by, and around midnight, Tony announced that he was going to head off to bed as he had a press conference scheduled for early the next morning. Peter followed the man, reluctantly heading to his own room after giving Tony a hug good night. The young hero managed to fall asleep quickly, though he was awakened around 4 AM by a nightmare. This bad dream, however, was one that the teen had never had before. This nightmare was about Tony leaving him. Peter knew it was silly. He knew that Tony loved him. He also knew that Tony would never do anything to hurt him. However, the nightmare still ate away at him, and it only took a few moments of overthinking before the boy was out of his bed and down the hall, creeping into Tony’s room. He tiptoed to the bed and then slipped under the covers, slowly inching across the large bed until he was pressed up against his dad. The movement woke Tony, who initially sat up in panic, though once he turned and saw that it was just Peter, he fell back against the pillows, running his fingers through his hair as he took a deep breath.

“Sorry…I didn’t mean to wake you up.” Peter said, hoping Tony wouldn’t be angry. The half-asleep man pressed closer to Peter, draping an arm over him as he closed his eyes again.

“S’okay. Nightmare?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re safe here, Pete. Go back to sleep.”

“I know.” Peter said as he closed his eyes, immediately feeling more relaxed. “Dad?”

“Hm?”

“I love you.” A soft smile played on Tony’s lips as he started drifting off again.

“Love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony is so soft when it comes to Peter ♥


	23. Sunday, December 23rd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter Parker is the most precious hero.

Tony woke up around seven that morning. He slipped out of bed, covering Peter back up before heading to his bathroom to get ready for the day. A short while later, Tony returned, showered and dressed, sitting on his bed as he slipped his feet into his shoes.

“Pete?” Tony asked as he gently tapped the teenager’s shoulder.

“Hm?"

“You awake?”

“No.”

“Come on, get up.” The man said as an amused smile twitched at the corner of his lips. “You need to go get ready.”

“Do I have to go to the press conference? Can’t you just tell everyone about me?”

“You don’t have to go, but everyone is going to be curious about you. If they see you today, they will be far less likely to try and invade your privacy later on—It will still happen, I’ll tell you that now—but it will be better if you come with me today.” Peter sighed as he slowly sat up.

“I’m so tired.”

“Dream about Toomes again?” Peter bit his bottom lip, slowly shaking his head after a moment of hesitation. Tony raised an eyebrow as he looked at the teenager beside him. “What bothered you so much that you had to sleep here?” The man asked, his eyes filled with concern.

“It was just a dumb nightmare…”

“Peter.” The boy frowned and looked at his fingers, remaining silent. Tony waited for a few moments before sighing softly. “Pete?” The teenager looked up at him and huffed when he realized that his father was not going to leave him alone until he told him why his dream had upset him so much.

“I…Well, I…dreamed that this wasn’t real. It was all a joke or something, I guess. You didn’t want me.” Tony frowned as he scooted closer to Peter.

“Come here.” Tony opened his arms and the boy did not have to be asked twice. Without a moment of hesitation, Peter climbed straight into the man’s arms, burying his face against Tony’s neck.

“Peter, you know that would never happen, don’t you?”

“I—I know. I just keep thinking that this can’t actually be happening. Maybe it’s all a dream or something.”

“Is that why you’ve been so clingy since I gave you the papers?” Peter pouted and hugged the man even tighter.

“I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to be.”

“Hey, hey, that’s not a bad thing, okay? It’s just not like you to be this clingy. I was getting a little worried.”

“I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to worry you….” The billionaire sighed softly and gently lifted Peter’s face from his shoulder, cupping his son’s face in his hands. 

“Peter, I haven’t stopped worrying about you since the day that we met, and I’m going to continue worrying about you until the day that I die. No one can change that. I’m learning that’s what parents do.” Tony said with a soft laugh. “I love you, Bud. This isn’t a joke. You’ve been my son for a long time, Pete. We’re just making it official on Wednesday. If you have that dream again, don’t let it scare you. You’re mine, and no one can change that, got it?” Peter nodded softly before wrapping his arms around Tony’s neck, hugging the man tightly. Tony wasn’t one for showing emotions or being open about his feelings; Peter knew this. Still, the man never seemed to have a problem telling Peter what he needed to hear when he needed to hear it.

“I got it. I love you too.”

“Good. Now we have about an hour until we need to get downstairs for the conference. Go put on something nice and then get a quick breakfast.”

“Okay!” Peter said, already feeling far better than he had a few minutes prior. He hopped up, trying to remember what clothing he had in his closet as he charged back to his own room to get dressed.

Fifteen minutes later, Peter appeared in the kitchen wearing a dark blue collared shirt neatly tucked into a pair of black slacks. Around his waist was a simple black leather belt with a gold buckle, and he was wearing a pair of black leather shoes that matched. Tony looked up from his coffee with a grin, lowering his sunglasses to look over the rim at Peter.

“Definitely my son.” Peter’s anxious expression was replaced with one of pride, and he held out a can of hairspray and a comb.

“Can you help me?”

“I’d be glad to.” Tony said as he set down his mug, taking the styling products from Peter as he stood up to fix the teenager’s hair. It only took the man a few minutes to fix Peter’s unruly curls, and once finished, he looked at the boy in satisfaction.

“Perfect.” Peter grinned and pulled out his phone, using his front-facing camera as a mirror.

“Thanks! Hey, take a selfie with me!” Peter said as he turned his back to Tony so that they were both on the camera. Tony instantly leaned forward with his signature smile, and Peter snapped the picture. They took a few more selfies including one silly face selfie, and one of Tony kissing Peter’s cheek. After taking several pictures, Tony poked Peter’s side before going to sit down.

“You’d better send those to me.”

“I wiiiill.” Tony grinned as he realized his son’s playful demeanor had returned. After a quick glance down at his watch, he stood up again, putting a hand on Peter’s shoulder.

“Not sure you’ll have time for breakfast anymore, but it should be a short conference. I’m going to try to keep it under thirty minutes. Will you be okay answering a few questions?” Tony asked. Peter instantly became nervous once again, chewing on his bottom lip in thought.

“I don’t know. I tend to mess things up when I get nervous.”

“I think you’ll be fine.” Tony said as he looked over Peter’s face. “But I’ll be right next to you if you get tongue-tied.” He added quickly. “About ready to head down?”

“Yeah, just one minute.” Peter said as he quickly typed out a text to MJ, telling her that Tony was adopting him and that he would explain everything later. Peter hadn’t messaged his friend sooner, though he would rather her find out in a short text message from him than by watching the press conference on TV. “Okay, I’m ready.” Peter said as he stood up nervously. Tony put an arm around his son as he led him to a lower level of the tower where the press room was located. Outside the room, Pepper was waiting for the two of them.

“Right on time.” She said as Tony greeted her with a kiss to the cheek. “I’ve spoken with Tony, but I’ve yet to congratulate you, Peter.” The woman said kindly, and Peter gave her a nervous smile.

“Thank you, Miss Potts.”

“Are you feeling well?’ Pepper asked worriedly as she touched Peter’s forehead. The boy nodded slowly and Tony rubbed his son’s back encouragingly.

“He didn’t sleep well last night, and the nerves aren’t helping.” Tony explained and Pepper nodded in understanding.

“Tony, why don’t you go on and make the announcement yourself. You can talk a bit and answer some questions. I’ll wait out here with Peter and bring him in at the very end.” The CEO offered. Peter turned to Tony quickly.

“Can we please do that?”

“I think it’s a great idea. Give me around fifteen minutes and then you two come in.” Tony said with a smile. The billionaire adjusted his glasses as he moved to open the door, disappearing a moment later into a room full of loud reporters and photographers. Peter waited outside with Pepper, who tried to make small talk with Peter in order to distract him from his nerves. The time flew by far too quickly, and before he knew it, Pepper was leading him into the press room. As Peter entered the room, he swallowed hard when he noticed how many people and cameras were present. Everyone was quiet as they listened to Tony talk about how he came to adopt Peter. However, it only took one reporter to spot him before the entire room was in an uproar at the first sighting of Tony Stark’s adopted son. Pepper nudged Peter gently onto the platform and the teenager reluctantly walked up the three short steps before making a beeline for Tony. He wanted nothing more than to hide behind his father, but he knew that everyone in New York would be watching the broadcast. Peter just couldn’t look like a baby in front of the entire city. Suddenly it occurred to him that Tony Stark was not just some local celebrity, his new father was one of the most famous men in the entire world. When it occurred to Peter that this press conference was most likely being broadcast worldwide, the teenager thought that he might actually be sick.

“Everyone, this is my son, Peter.” The boy heard Tony say as he felt the man’s hand settle onto his back. “We’re both very excited to announce the official adoption, and we would be happy to answer questions.” Peter’s head was spinning as everyone began to speak at once. Pepper managed to calm the reporters slightly, and to Peter’s dismay, he found that most of the questions were for him.

“Are you happy that Tony Stark is adopting you?”

“O-of course I am. He’s really the best dad I could have asked for.” Peter replied softly into the microphone.

“Mr. Stark is a genius. How do your grades compare?”

“Well, I’m not a genius…but I do get good grades.” Peter said before Tony leaned over in front of the microphone.

“He’s just being modest. I can assure you that he’s every bit as smart as I am-if not smarter.” Tony said with a smile, prompting laughter from the room. Peter began to relax slightly; maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as he thought.

“Mr. Parker, as Mr. Stark announced earlier, you will be the heir to Stark Industries in the future. Does that mean you will legally be changing your name to ‘Stark’?” Peter froze as he heard the question. The thought of changing his name had never even crossed his mind. Luckily, Tony noticed the panicked look on Peter’s face and leaned over to answer the question for him.

“Peter is still undecided in that area, but he is by no means under any pressure to do so. Whether he takes my name or not, it will make no difference to our relationship or to his future as the heir to my company. “ Peter shot Tony a grateful look as the next question was asked.

“What happened to your real parents?” The teen’s eyes widened in surprise. He nervously began to fiddle with his belt buckle as his eyes grew misty. Tony answered for him again.

“What happened in Peter’s past is something personal for him and won’t be spoken of unless Peter chooses to do so. And for the record, I **_am_** his real father whether he shares my genetic makeup or not. You know what? I think we’re done here. Thank you all for coming out today.” Tony swiftly led Peter off the platform and out of the room as Pepper walked onto the platform to address the crowd. Once they were in the elevator, Tony took off his sunglasses and slipped them into his pocket.

“Are you okay, Pete?”

“Yeah.”

“You sure?” Peter didn’t answer, remaining silent for a moment before he looked at Tony.

“Dad?”

“Hm?

“I feel guilty.” Tony raised an eyebrow as the doors opened and they stepped back out onto their floor.

“I don’t love Richard and Mary the way I love you. I don’t remember them. I wouldn’t even know what they looked like if it weren’t for pictures that May and Ben showed me.” Peter said as he followed Tony to sit on the large sectional in the living room.

“That’s not something you need to feel guilty about. You were a baby when they died. You can’t be expected to have strong feelings of love for people you can’t recall meeting—even if they are your parents.” Peter nodded a bit as he drew his knees to his chest, resting his chin on the top of one of his knees.

“Can I ask you something personal?”

“Of course you can, Peter.”

“When…when it was the anniversary of your parents’ death and we went to the cemetery together, you kept talking to your mom and saying nice things to her…but you didn’t really even acknowledge your dad…why not?”

“Oh, so you’re asking the tough questions today, huh?” Tony asked with a forced chuckle. “The truth is, I didn’t mean much to him. I spent my entire life trying to make him proud of me. Even once I got older and realized what a terrible father he was, I still tried to get validation from him. Never was good enough for him.” Tony said thoughtfully as he moved his right hand to rub against his left arm. “Always said I’d never have kids because I didn’t want to screw them up the way Howard screwed me up…but then you came along. Listen, I know that I’m not great at this whole ‘dad’ business, but if I ever do something to hurt you, you have to promise to tell me.”

“Dad…”

“Promise me, Peter.” The boy frowned as he looked over the man’s face.

“I promise. But just for the record, you’re wrong. You’re great at being my dad…I don’t get it though. Are you sure he wasn’t proud of you? When we learned about your dad in history class, I remember seeing a picture of him and you. You were like four and you built a circuit board and there was this newspaper article where he talked about how proud he was of you.”

“That’s one of my earliest memories.” Tony said, pausing for a few moments before he continued. “My dad said that to the reporters. You know, to keep up appearances and all that. As soon as they left, he pointed out everything that I had done wrong. Something about a sloppy soldering job if I remember correctly. Who even lets a toddler use a soldering iron in the first place? Anyway, he broke it, threw it in the trash, and told me to pay more attention to detail next time.” Tony said with a shrug. Peter’s eyes widened in surprise.

“If he was always like that, why don’t you tell anyone what a terrible father he really was? All the books I’ve ever seen talk about what a family man he was.”

“What does it matter? He’s not here to defend himself. You know, after my parents died, I got a reputation for being an arrogant brat. I definitely was. It took me years to change that image, and some people still see me that way today. If I go around complaining about my iconic father when he’s not even here to defend himself, it wouldn’t do anybody any good.” Peter laid his head on Tony’s shoulder as he wrapped his arms around the man.

“I guess you’re right. But if he were here now, he’d have to say it. You’ve done everything better than he has—you have invented things greater than he could imagine, you took his company and completely changed it to focus on good things **_and_** it’s even more profitable than before, you’re a superhero and he wasn’t, you’re a way better dad then him, oh, and you’re definitely more handsome too.” Peter said playfully.

“Well, the last part’s definitely true. My prettiness comes from my mother.” Tony said with a laugh. “It’s not completely a fair comparison though. He was limited by the technology of his time.”

“That’s a lie and you know it! Didn’t you invent the iron man suit from a box of scraps in a cave? I bet even your dad had better technology available to him and he never made an iron man suit.” Tony blinked several times. He had never thought about that. “See? You’re smarter too.” Tony stared down at Peter for a moment before enfolding the boy in his arms as he kissed the top of his head.

“I definitely don’t deserve you.”

“That’s what your dad would say. What about your mom?”

“…She would have loved you.”

“Then I think I would have loved her too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll leave you hanging for just a bit longer. It's far past my bedtime, 24th~31st will go up tomorrow. I'm sorry and thank you for being so understanding ;; <3


	24. Monday, December 24th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a really, really long chapter. It's also really, really cute.

“No, you can’t come in!” Peter shouted. Tony frowned from the other side of the door.

“What? Why not?”

“Don’t you know that you shouldn’t ask too many questions this close to Christmas?” When Tony heard Peter’s playful tone, he laughed softly.

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes! Also, Ned and MJ are coming over so let them in please.”

“Why do they get to go into your room, but I don’t?”

“Because their presents are already ready and they are going to help me finish everyone else’s presents!”

“All right, All right.” Tony said with a chuckle. “I’ll be in my office for a while. Don’t forget that I have to go to that charity event with Pepper later, so I won’t be home until tonight.”

“Nooo!” Peter said as he scrambled to get up. He quickly opened his door a crack and peeked out. “I forgot about that.”

“Do you want to come? You can hob-knob with a bunch of billionaires and celebrities while they drink cocktails and talk about money.”

“No offense, but that sounds awful.”

“None taken. It’s terrible. Although you’ll have to make an appearance at one eventually.” Peter put on a grumpy face, and Tony laughed. “It can wait a while, don’t worry. I’ll probably be out until late this evening, so don't have too much fun without me, okay?”

“Okay.” Peter said with an exaggerated sigh. “Close your eyes.”

“Why? Tony asked suspiciously.

“Don’t you trust me?” Peter asked, and Tony sighed as he closed his eyes. He heard Peter’s door open and then close before he felt the teen’s arms wrap around him. “You can open your eyes. I just didn’t want you to see your present when I opened the door.” The teen said with a grin. Tony chuckled, briefly returning the hug. “Oh, um…Dad?” Peter asked as he pulled away from the hug.

“Yeah?”

“Would it be okay if I asked Friday to order us a pizza later?”

“Of course it is, you don’t need my permission—just ask Friday.”

“But…Friday pays using your money…”

“Pete, Friday can buy you whatever you need any time you need it.”

“I don’t wanna spend all your money.”

“Trust me, Kid. I couldn’t spend all my money if I tried. You’ll be fine. Besides, it’ll all be yours someday anyway. What difference does it make if you spend it now or later?” Peter opened his mouth to protest when he suddenly remembered the 200 dollars in his wallet that Tony had given him for lunch the previous week. His father clearly did not have a realistic grasp on money. The boy closed his mouth, shrugging a bit.

“Okay, Thanks, Mr.—Dad.” He said, quickly correcting himself.

“Mr. Dad?” Tony teased.

“Shuddup!” Peter said, pouting unconsciously. “I called you Mr. Stark for a long time.” Tony grinned as he ruffled his son’s hair.

“Just messing with you, Pete. I’m gonna head to work now. I’ll make sure Ned and MJ get up here.” Tony said, turning to leave.

“Thank you!” Peter called out, quickly heading back into his room to work on completing his Christmas gifts.

* * *

Peter heard a knock on his door, his head snapping up as he heard Ned’s voice.

“Hey, Peter. Can we come in?”

“Is it just you and MJ?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, come in!” Ned opened the door, grinning as he walked in. MJ glanced around the room curiously, this being her first time at the Tower.

“Hey!” Ned said as he plopped down onto the ground beside his best friend. “Dude the presents are looking awesome!”

“Thanks! I’m actually done with most of them, but I will need a little help for some of them.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” MJ said as she sat down beside the boys. “I want the details you promised me about this adoption.” Peter blinked at the girl’s abruptness before laughing awkwardly.

“Oh okay…uh, what do you want to know?”

“Well, what about your aunt?”

“Ohhh.” Peter said, relieved that MJ was asking him an easy question. “She doesn’t want any attention so Dad said he’d leave her out of it.”

“Oh my gosh, you’re calling him dad? That’s so cool.” Ned whispered. MJ rolled her eyes.

“But what does that mean for you?”

“Oh, well nothing’s really going to change. I’ll still stay with her during the week and here on the weekends. They’ll legally share custody of me, I guess.” MJ looked around the room.

“I thought you just did your internship work here on the weekend. But you have your own bedroom on Tony Stark’s floor of the tower, huh?” Ned and Peter exchanged a worried look. Neither of them had thought about MJ questioning that.

“Well, I mean. I’m his personal intern, right? Or I guess I was. So like, it makes more sense if I have a place to stay so I can be here any time he needs me right?” Peter said, hoping that he was coming off as convincing.

“I guess so.”

“So anyway,” Ned said in an attempt to distract MJ, “You looked so cool at the conference, Peter. Like a real celebrity. Where did you even get those clothes?”

“My closet. Mister, I mean Dad—I keep doing that—says I need them. I like, never wear them though. I don’t know why he bought them all.” Peter said as he rolled his eyes. MJ raised her brow but said nothing.

“Dude, Iron Man is your dad. What even is your life?”

“I know! It’s crazy!”

“So he’s been planning to adopt you for a while now?” MJ asked. Peter nodded as he started to pick up some of the materials he had been using to make gifts. “He said he was going to tell me on Christmas, but the news ruined the surprise and he had to tell me early. I’m glad he told me early though… Anyway, let’s exchange our presents now!” Peter said excitedly. Ned grinned as he grabbed his backpack, opening it quickly. The three friends all exchanged gifts with one another before opening them excitedly. Peter got a customized Lego figure from Ned and a nerdy t-shirt from MJ, Ned received a miniature metal Millennium Falcon kit from Peter and a Vault Boy Funko Pop figure from MJ. MJ received a pen with her initials on it from Ned, and a book called “How to Deal With Annoying People” from Peter. The friends all thanked each other, expressing how much they enjoyed their new gifts as they admired them together.

“Hey, let’s help you finish all your gifts for the Avengers!” Ned said excitedly.

“So…your friends that are like family to you are the Avengers?” Peter stared at the girl for a moment and blinked. His mind had clearly been on vacation when he invited her to the tower.

“Yeah…we got close since I started interning here.”

“Oh, I see.” The girl left it at that and Peter let out a soft sigh of relief.

“Anyway, I’m hungry. Does pizza sound good to you guys?”

“Yep.”

“Always.”

“Okay!” Peter said with a grin, “Hey, Friday. Can you order some pizza, please?”

“Of course, Peter. What kind would you like?”

“Can we do pepperoni?” Ned asked as MJ stared at the ceiling curiously.

“Yeah! Okay with you, MJ?”

“Sure.”

“Okay, two pepperoni pizzas then!” Peter said to Friday before adding to his friends, “I’m really hungry today.”

“So Friday’s not just in the elevator?” MJ asked.

“No, she runs the whole building. She can do everything. She’s like Alexa’s awesome older sister on steroids, right, Friday?”

“Even if I did have a body with which to take steroids, I would never subject said body to such strenuous effects.” Peter rolled his eyes and MJ grinned.

“I like her.”

“Thank you, MJ. I like you too.”

“Looks like you made a new friend!” Peter said with a laugh.

“Friday is the type of friend I need. Smart and quiet. I have enough loud friends.” She said as she stared pointedly at the boys.

“Wow, ruuuude.” Ned protested

“She’s not wrong.” Peter said with a grin. His best friend agreed with a laugh.

“Eh, I guess that’s true.”

“Anyway, let me get Captain Rogers’ gift. I think I might need a little help finishing up the details.” Peter said as he walked over to a shelf and began to pull out the nearly-completed leather sketchbook and his tools. MJ Reached out to touch one of Peter’s projects curiously, frowning when she got glue on her hand.

“Is that the bathroom?” MJ asked Ned as she used her thumb to point in the direction of a door across the room.

“Yep.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.” She said as she hopped up. MJ crossed the room, stepping into the bathroom as Peter turned around. He smiled as he walked back over to Ned, glancing up at the girl entering his bathroom. Peter looked back at his best friend as the boy began to speak before his eyes widened in horror and he ran towards the open bathroom door. Peter ran into his bathroom to find MJ staring at the Spiderman suit hanging on a hook. She looked at Peter with a raised eyebrow, arms folded over her chest.

“Wow, Spiderman is honestly ** _so_** annoying. He leaves his crap all over the tower. I swear, I’m going to have my dad talk to him—“

“Oh, give it up, Peter.” MJ said as she rolled her eyes. Ned appeared in the doorway, his mouth open in shock.

“W-whatever are you talking about?”

“Dude, I’ve been 99% sure that you’re Spiderman for a long time now. This whole thing with Tony Stark adopting you really cemented it for me. The costume hanging in your bathroom kind of just confirmed what I already knew.”

“It’s not a costume, it’s a suit!” Peter protested, clamping his mouth shut quickly after seeing the look on MJ’s face. He glanced at the floor before glancing at Ned, his eyes finally returning to the girl in front of him. “Umm…so, are you going to tell anyone?”

“Do you want me to tell anyone?”

“No! Please don’t!”

“Then I won’t. Geez, Parker. You know I don’t have time for gossip.” Peter bit his bottom lip, suddenly feeling a bit guilty for doubting his friend.

“Thanks, MJ…Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“Eh.” The girl said with a nonchalant shrug. “At least you admitted it and didn’t try to keep going with that ‘Spiderman left his suit in my bathroom’ story.”

“That was kind of a lame story.” Ned added. Peter glared at him playfully before releasing a sigh.

“Guess I’m glad you found out. You ask too many questions.”

“Gotta keep you on your toes.” Peter laughed and rolled his eyes before heading back into his room.

“All right, help me with my gifts until the pizza comes?”

“You got it.” Ned said as he followed Peter back out to the room. MJ joined them after she washed the glue off her hands and she looked around curiously.

“Which one is for your dad?”

“Oh, I finished his earlier. I wanted to do his alone.”

“I want to see it!” Ned said eagerly. Peter shook his head adamantly.

“No! You guys will totally make fun of me!”

“I swear that I won’t.” Ned said, turning to MJ and nudging her with his elbow.

“Cross my heart.” The girl said, and Peter hesitated for a moment before sighing in resignation.

“All right, let me get it.”

* * *

“So your aunt is on her way over, huh?” Bucky asked Peter with a smirk. Peter narrowed his eyes at the man.

“Don’t be creepy, Sergeant Barnes. I’m not afraid to web you to a wall.”

“Ooh, Spidey’s getting feisty.” Sam said as he walked into the room and plopped onto the couch beside Bucky.

“I don’t care who you are—no one gets away with being creepy towards May.”

“I thought you said Thor was flirting with her.” The Sergeant pointed out.

“Yeah, that was a gross…” Peter said as he made a face of disgust, “but he was always a gentleman.”

“Watch it, Kid. Bucky Barnes is the epitome of a gentleman.” Bucky said as Steve looked up from his sketchbook and glanced at Peter.

“He’s not lying, Son. There was a reason every girl in Brooklyn had a crush on him.” The teen threw another suspicious glance in Bucky’s direction.

“Well…all right then…but I’m still going to be watching you.”

“Fair enough.” Friday chose that moment to interrupt the conversation.

“Peter, your aunt just arrived. She should be at this level in approximately one minute.”

“Thank you, Friday!” Peter said as he excitedly bounded towards the elevators to wait for May. A few moments later, the doors opened, and Peter practically tackled May with a hug. The woman laughed as she wrapped her arms tightly around Peter.

“I missed you, May.”

“I missed you too, Honey.” She said as she pulled back to look at Peter. “You look so happy.”

“I am. Thank you, thank you, thank you again for letting Tony be my dad.” May smiled and ran her fingers through her nephew’s hair.

“I think you two are good for each other. Tony needs you just as much as you need him.”

“You really think so?”

“I do.” Peter beamed up at his aunt for a moment before taking her hand and gently tugging her toward the living room.

“Guys, this is my Aunt May. May, this is Captain Rogers, Sergeant Barnes, and Mr. Wilson.” Bucky turned around with a charming smirk on his face, though the smirk disappeared the instant he looked at May. He stared at her in surprise and Peter looked at him in confusion before noticing that Steve also seemed surprised, looking back and forth between Bucky and May.

“Hi, May.” Sam finally said after giving Bucky a strange look. “You can call me Sam. Nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Sam.” May said warmly. Steve stepped forward and shook her hand gently.

“I’m Steve. It’s a pleasure to meet you, May. Peter says a lot of wonderful things about you.”

“He speaks very highly of you as well, Steve.” She turned to Bucky who was still staring at May as if he’d seen a ghost. His eyes were slightly misty and Peter walked closer to the man, poking his flesh arm gently.

“Uhh, Sergeant Barnes?” Bucky seemed to snap out of his trance, blinking quickly as he cleared his throat.

“I-I’m sorry. It’s really wonderful to finally meet you, May.” Bucky said softly as he stepped closer, looking over May’s face affectionately. He realized he was probably making the woman uncomfortable and he cleared his throat, taking a step backward. “Am I crazy?” Bucky asked softly as he looked at Steve. The Captain shook his head.

“I see it too, Buck.”

“Huh? What do you see?” Peter asked as Bucky clenched his jaw and stared down at his feet in an effort to contain his emotions. Steve took the opportunity to answer for his friend.

“May is the spitting image of Bucky’s younger sister Rebecca.” Peter blinked in confusion for a moment before it suddenly dawned on him that Bucky was a hundred years old; his younger sister most likely grew old and died while he was the winter soldier. The same thought must have occurred to May because she approached Bucky, gently taking his hands in her own.

“Do I really look like her?” Bucky looked up in surprise, nodding softly. “I would love to hear about her, Sergeant. What was she like?” Bucky’s eyes lit up and a smile spread across his face. Peter watched in surprise; he had never before seen the man look so happy or gentle.

“If you really want to hear about her, I’ll tell ya. But you have to cut out that Sergeant nonsense and call me ‘Bucky’.” The man drawled.

“All right, Bucky.” May said as she took his metal arm, guiding him to the couch. “Tell me all about her. Were you close in age?” May asked, and Bucky happily began to speak about his younger sister while Steve looked on fondly.

* * *

Everyone had ended up listening to Bucky speak about his younger sister for nearly an hour when Thor walked into the lounge and greeted everyone cheerily. When he noticed May, a devilish smile spread across his face as he walked over to her, taking her hand and gently kissing it.

“We meet again, Lady May.” Thor said as Loki walked in and rolled his eyes. “Will you be gracing us with your presence for the entire evening?”

“I will. I have time off for the holiday, so I’ll be here for a few days.”

“Wonderful news!” The god said and Bucky glared at him. Tony, Natasha, and Bruce all chose that moment to file into the room. After greeting May with a kiss on the cheek, Tony began introducing her to the others. Peter was watching happily until he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He glanced to the side to see Bucky holding Thor’s collar with his metal hand as he roughly poked at the god’s chest with his finger.

“If you break her heart, I’ll kill you.” Bucky hissed, and the King of Asgard’s eyes widened in surprise. Peter grinned. Apparently, he wouldn’t have to worry about Bucky Barnes anymore.

* * *

“I don’t think I should…” Tony said as he nervously looked at May.

“Why not?” The woman asked.

“What if Peter hates it? Or what if he thinks I’m trying to replace Ben? I’m not trying to do that.”

“Tony, you know how special Christmas is to Peter. Every Christmas Eve, Ben and I sat in bed with him and read “A Christmas Carol”. We had our own parts and we would do different voices. He loved it so much that we never stopped it. After Ben died, I thought we’d never do it again. The first Christmas after Ben was hard. But on Christmas Eve, He brought me the book and asked if I would still read it to him. I thought it would make us both upset, but somehow it felt like Ben was still with us when we read it. He knows you’re not trying to replace his uncle, and I can promise you that he would be thrilled if you joined our tradition.” May said as she reached out to squeeze Tony’s arm. The billionaire smiled.

“Thanks, May. You’re amazing.”

“I know.” She said with a grin. Tony laughed as the two of them left the kitchen to return to the rest of the Avengers chatting merrily in the lounge. “Peter, it’s almost eleven o’clock.”

“I’ll go get my pajamas on and brush my teeth. Just give me five minutes, okay?” The teenager said excitedly as he hopped up and ran toward the elevator.

“The kid all excited for Santa to come?” Sam asked with a laugh and Bucky shoved the back of the other man’s head.

“Don’t ya ever listen to anyone besides yourself? He was talking earlier about May reading him a story.”

“Oh. Well isn’t he too old for that?”

“It’s a tradition.” May interrupted softly. “It’s very important to Peter. It’s not so much about him getting a bedtime story, as it is about the memories it brings back for him.”

“That makes sense.” Sam said, completely unable to argue with May. She smiled at Sam before turning back to Tony.

“Come on, let’s head upstairs. I’ll show you which parts you read.” Tony followed her as she made her way to the elevator. Once they returned to Tony’s floor, May grabbed the storybook she had brought from her bag and opened it up to show the billionaire. He smiled as he looked over the colorful illustrations, listening carefully as May told him which lines he should read. After May finished giving Tony a rundown of the story, the two adults made their way to Peter’s room. May knocked gently at the door.

“Honey, you all ready?” She called out.

“Yeah, hurry up!” Both May and Tony laughed as they entered the room, Peter’s eyes lighting up as he saw Tony. “Dad? You’re going to listen too?”

“Even better. He’s going to help me read it.” May said. Tony was just about to say that he wouldn’t read it if Peter didn’t want him to do so, but the look of joy on Peter’s face instantly set the man’s mind at ease.

“You have to do different voices. No being boring!”

“Hey, I can do some great voices!” Tony said, laughing as he defended himself.

“I guess we’ll see.” Peter teased as he stuck his tongue out. “Come on!” Tony laughed as he kicked off his shoes so that he could crawl onto Peter’s bed, getting on one side of the boy as May sat on the other. Just as May opened up the book, Peter’s bedroom door slammed opened and Sam and Bucky walked in.

“Uh, how the hell did you two get up here?” Tony asked, as Friday was not allowed to grant even the other Avengers access to his floor without permission.

“In the elevator.” Sam said. Tony rolled his eyes as Bucky added. “Friday said Peter invited us all to hear the story.” Peter grinned and May laughed softly. Bucky plopped down beside May and Sam moved right up beside Tony, much to the billionaire’s annoyance. Peter giggled as he watched the scene, and a few moments later, Thor and Loki walked in as well.

“We’ve come to hear the Midgardian Christmas story!” Thor announced jovially as the god moved to sit on the floor since Peter’s bed was overcrowded. He sat on the ground right next to the edge of the bed where May sat, and Bucky glared at the god. Loki took the chair from Peter’s desk and moved it closer, sitting down just as the door opened again for Steve, Natasha, and Bruce to enter. Tony shook his head as May started to laugh.

“Everyone’s here! You can start now!” Peter said with a grin as the others moved to sit on the floor beside Thor. May cleared her throat as she started to read the story. May and Tony took turns reading the story. At first, Tony felt silly reading his lines in different voices, but when he realized how amused it made not only Peter but also everyone else, he began to enjoy doing different voices for each character. About halfway through the story, May looked up from the book as she felt Bucky’s head drop to her knee, realizing that the man had fallen asleep. It wasn’t too much longer before Sam also fell asleep, and when he fell against Tony’s shoulder, the billionaire gently pushed him down onto Bucky which made Peter giggle. By the time they had reached the end of the story, most of the Avengers were asleep or very drowsy, and even Peter was fighting to stay awake so that he could read the last line of the book. When May finally turned to the last page and read the narration about what a good man Scrooge had become, Peter looked at the final paragraph, waiting for May to begin the final sentence.

“And so, as Tiny Tim observed…”

“God Bless Us, Every One!” Peter said, a tired smile on his face as his aunt gently closed the book. “Thank you, May.” He said softly before turning to Tony. “And thank you for reading too.” Tony ruffled the boy’s hair and Peter laughed before a big yawn escaped his lips.

“I’m tired too. I’ll go back to my room.” May said as she gently slid Bucky’s head off of her knee and then stepped over the sleeping King of Asgard. “Should we wake them?”

“Probably not the best idea. Not that they’re dangerous or anything, but they are like cranky children when disturbed from sleep.” Natasha said, a teasing smirk on her face, though her eyes held fondness as she looked over her sleeping teammates. Bruce also stood up and yawned, his hands moving to his lower back.

“No matter how tired I am, I cannot sleep on a hard floor.” The man said, and May laughed quietly as she moved to Peter’s closet to find extra blankets. She covered up Loki first before moving to cover up Steve, and then Thor before spreading the last blanket over Sam and Bucky. “You coming, Tony?” Bruce asked.

“No.” Peter answered for him with a grin before the man even had a chance to open his mouth.

“I got a giant bird on my feet and a little spider hanging around my neck, so it looks like I’m stuck here for the night.” Tony said with a chuckle.

“All right, we’ll see you in the morning. Good night, I love you.” May said softly, giving Peter a kiss on the forehead before making her way towards his door.

“G’night, May. Love you.” Peter said with a smile as the three adults quietly crept out of his room. He lay back against the pillows, turning to face Tony. “This has been the best Christmas ever and it’s not even Christmas yet.” Tony glanced down at his watch, not saying anything for a minute before he held out his wrist to show Peter that the clock had just turned to midnight.

“It is now. Merry Christmas, Peter.” Tony said as he shifted to lay down beside the teen.

“Merry Christmas, Dad.”

“Pete?”

“Hm?”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“This has been the best Christmas I’ve ever had too.” Peter smiled and turned to hug the man beside him, eyes closing before he slowly drifted off to sleep.


	25. Tuesday, December 25th

Peter began to wake up slowly around eight o’clock, snuggling into the warmth beside him. After a moment, he cracked an eye open, wondering why Tony was in his bed with him. He tried to roll over to grab his phone from the nightstand, but he couldn't seem to move his legs. He looked down to see Bucky Barnes using his knees as a pillow. After a split second of confusion, the boy sat up quickly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“IT’S CHRISTMAS. MERRY CHRISTMAS!” He shouted, effectively waking up all of the other men in the room.

“Geez, he’s so loud.” Sam said as he covered his ears.

“Stark, tell your kid to be quiet.” Bucky chimed in as he laid back down on Peter’s legs. Tony lightly smacked Peter with a pillow.

“C’mon, Pete. Let us sleep until at least eight, okay?” Tony asked, his eyes barely open. Peter glance at his phone which read 7:54 AM.

“Fine, but only if I can wake you all up with loud Christmas music.”

“Yeah, sure.” Tony agreed as he closed his eyes and Peter slipped out from the grasp of the super soldier, who was clearly annoyed at being disturbed again until the teen slipped a pillow beneath his head. The boy snuck out of his room, starting a big pot of coffee for the adults he was about to piss off before going to find a Santa hat. He put it on before quickly going through the box of decorations in the closet to find some fake snow. With only a minute left to spare, Peter went back outside his door and waited.

“Friday, at exactly eight, please blast Christmas music through the entire tower. Start with Jingle Bell Rock.”

“Okay, Peter.” The teenager watched his phone, waiting with eager anticipation. Moments later, the loud music started and Peter slammed his door open.

“HO HO HO! MERRY CHRISTMAS!” He shouted over the music as he began to dance around his room, throwing snow on all of the heroes who were now sitting up with half-confused, half-crabby looks on their faces.

“I said to give us until eight!” Tony protested and Peter grinned as he held up his phone.

“Eight on the dot!”

“None of you will tell if I kill him, right?” Bucky asked as Peter threw a handful of fake snow into his face.

“I’d help you bury the body, man.” Sam said, both Bucky and Tony earning themselves smacks on the back of the head from Tony. As they began to wake up, both Loki and Thor were amused by Peter’s antics, and the younger god stood up as he looked out the window.

“Peter, where did you get that snow? There’s nothing outside.”

“There’s not?” Peter asked in disappointment as he ran to look out the window. “Figures we’d get snow weeks ago and it would all melt before Christmas.” The boy said with a sigh. “This is just fake snow. See?” He said as he sprinkled some into Loki’s hand.

“So it is.” The god said as he examined it carefully before walking past Steve and Thor, sprinkling it onto their heads with a smirk before clapping his hands together to dust them off. “I believe we need to go open presents now, isn’t that right, Peter?”

“That’s 100% right! Everyone go down to the lounge. I made coffee for you to take on the way!”

“My angel!” Tony said with a grin.

“Little demon is more like it.” Sam said with a grunt as he climbed over the super soldier to get off of the bed.

“Watch your mouth, Birdbrain.” Tony warned.

“I’m with Stark on this one. The kid made coffee, I’ll call him a god if he wants me to.” Bucky mumbled as he stood up with one of Peter’s blankets wrapped around his shoulders.

“You refuse to believe that I’m a god.” Loki said indignantly and Bucky shrugged as he walked past the Asgardian.

“Make me coffee and we’ll talk.” The former assassin said, ignoring the glare Loki shot in his direction. Peter led the way to the elevator, waiting inside it patiently as the tired adults poured themselves coffee. Once everyone was inside the lift, they went down to the lounge where they found May, Bruce, and Natasha waiting for them.

“You guys are already up?” Steve asked in surprise.

“The loud music helped.” Bruce said with a chuckle.

“At least you didn’t have this little spider monkey throwing fake snow in your face.” Sam said, and Peter grinned.

“Come on guys, presents!” Peter said as he ran over to the tree. The adults all joined him and Peter began to pull presents from beneath the tree, walking them over to each adult as he read the tags and announced who they were from. After a few moments, Tony made him sit down so that he could have a turn to open presents. The teen was spoiled rotten by everyone, getting everything from games and gadgets to clothes and an expensive watch. Every adult grinned as they watched Peter’s genuine excitement over each gift, and they refused to let him up until he opened his presents from everyone. Once Peter finally finished opening all of his gifts, he went back to playing Santa Claus, passing out the rest of the boxes beneath the tree. He watched eagerly when the others finally began to open his gifts, smiling in excitement at their reactions. Steve stared at his handmade leather sketchbook and ran his fingers over the binding as if it were the most precious thing he’d ever held. Bucky’s eyes widened in childlike wonder when he saw the one-armed sweater, and he immediately pulled it over his head, grinning at Peter. When Sam opened his handmade shirt that said “Flyest Guy in the Sky” and had a picture of falcon wings beneath it, he laughed loudly and then put it on, pointing at the front of the shirt.

“And none of ya’ll better forget it!” Sam said with a grin as Peter handed Natasha her gift, a black knife sheath with a small, metallic red spider embossed on the front. The woman grinned, pulling a knife out of seemingly nowhere as she slid it into the sheath.

“It’s perfect. Thank you, Peter. This is wonderful.” Peter beamed as he handed Bruce his present. When the man opened the soft, lavender-filled eye mask, Peter explained to the man that he could heat the mask to make it even more soothing. Bruce tried it on and sighed in contentment, stating that he could not remember the last time he felt so calm. Peter happily moved to hand Thor and Loki their gifts: Loki, who received a hand-painted tea cup and saucer from Peter, looked as if he might cry. He held the present carefully, looking up at Peter with a soft smile as he said that he would never use another cup for tea. For once, Loki was thankful when Thor took the attention from him as the king gasped in surprise, turning his gift for all to see. It was a colored, rectangular print of a silver Triquetra, on top of a backdrop which was half white and half green.

“I remember you said that you were having trouble coming up with a suitable design for Asgard’s new flag. I thought really hard about it. I hope you like it…”

“This is magnificent, Peter. Isn’t it, Loki?”

“Quite so. It’s very elegant, and the colors quite symbolic of our original home and our new one. You did a splendid job, Peter.” The teenager, thrilled that Thor had liked his design, happily skipped back to the tree. He picked up the two final presents he would deliver that day, leaving Clint’s under the tree to give to the man once he returned from his visit home to his family. He went to May first and then to Tony, looking between the two of them almost nervously. Tony watched as May opened the small box she had been given. She looked up in surprise as a large smile spread across her face.

“Sweetheart, did you make this?”

“I did! Do you like it?”

“I love it. It’s the most wonderful bracelet that I’ve ever owned.” The woman said as she pulled the jewelry from her nephew out of its box and slid it onto her wrist. She held it out to show the others, briefly explaining to them that the different charms all reminded her of special memories that she had shared with Peter and Ben. She then got up and gave Peter a big hug, which the boy gladly return. “Okay, Tony. It’s your turn!” May said as she released her nephew and returned to her seat. Peter looked at Tony nervously, hoping very much that the man would like his present.

“I—I’m glad that you told me about the adoption before Christmas. I changed what I was originally doing a little, and I like it better now. I hope you like it too…”

“I’m sure I will, Pete.” Tony said with a grin as he tore the paper away to reveal a red and gold certificate cover. He opened it curiously, eyes scanning the inside of it for a few moments before they filled with tears. The man swallowed as he continued to look at what was inside the cover, stopping only when he could no longer see due to the tears blurring his vision. The man lowered the cover and put a hand over his face as he began to cry. The others were stunned; having never seen Tony so emotional before. Peter ran to hug the man tightly. “I don’t deserve you, Peter. I love you so much, and I don’t deserve you. But I’ll try to be a good dad. I really will.” He whispered softly so that only Peter could hear. Those words made Peter tear up and he hugged the man even more tightly as he blinked his own tears away.

“Peter, can we see what you gave to Tony?” May asked softly a few moments later. Tony held up his gift and Peter took it, slowly pulling away from the man, walking to May and handing her the certificate cover before immediately moving back to his dad, hugging him tightly once again. May opened it, and she too teared up as she moved to lay the slim booklet open on the coffee table for everyone to see. Pasted to the left side of the inner cover was a small, golden piece of paper that read “Dad – Noun” beneath it was a letter that had clearly been written by a child. It read:

_Dear Iron Man,_

_My name is Peter and I’m 8 years old. I always see pictures and videos of you when you fight bad guys. I want to be a superhero so I can punish bad guys and help good people, but I’m not strong and I don’t have powers. I read lots of stuff about you. I learned that your powers come from your suit. I was disappointed that you don't have real powers, but then I found out you made the suit all by yourself. I think you must be the smartest person in the whole world to give yourself super powers. My uncle said that you’re a genius. I’m not a genius, but I’m studying real hard so I can be just like you. You’re the coolest superhero in the whole world. I hope that when I grow up, I can help other people just like you do. I hope I get to meet you someday._

_I love you forever and ever,_

_Peter_

At the bottom of the letter there was a small crayon drawing of what was clearly supposed to be Iron Man flying. On the top of the right inner cover was another small gold piece of paper which read “A son’s first hero.” Beneath it was a new letter dated two days earlier:

_Dear Dad,_

_I found this letter in an old box a few months ago. I wanted to show you, but I felt embarrassed. I know that I can be kind of annoying sometimes, and I always felt worried that I was more of a hindrance to you than anything else. You’ve been my idol since I was little, and just being able to spend time with you sometimes made me so happy. The past few months, I felt us getting closer. You would help me with my homework or take me to get ice cream or give me advice, and I felt like I had the best dad I could have ever asked for. I secretly hoped you enjoyed spending time with me as much as I enjoy spending time with you, but never in a million years did I dream that you would want to adopt me. Maybe it’s childish of me to be so happy about it at my age, but I don’t care. You’re always there for me whenever I need you. I know that it doesn’t matter what time of day or where I am; if I need help, the greatest hero will come to save me. Thank you for loving me and being the best hero and role model I could ever ask for. I love you, Dad._

_Peter_

Beneath the letter was pasted one of the selfies that they took earlier that month when Tony had taken Peter to see the Christmas lights after he had had a bad day at school. Next to it was a small red piece of paper that read “Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad.”

Every single adult’s eyes were misty as they looked at the present Peter had given to Tony, who was still crying softly into his son’s shoulder on the other side of the room. Tony tried and failed several times to calm himself down before he finally managed to regain control of his emotions. He pulled away, wiping his tears before he cupped Peter’s face in his hands and stared straight into the boy’s eyes.

“Never in my entire life have I ever received anything so precious. Thank you, Pete.” Tony whispered, and Peter smiled proudly. As Loki watched the scene, a thought crossed his mind, and he closed his eyes for a moment, keeping his hand down by his side to keep the other Avengers from noticing the faint green light emitting from his fingertips. It took only a few moments for someone to notice his magic, May being the first as she pointed out the window in surprise.

“It’s snowing!” Peter looked behind Tony, who also turned around, to stare out the large glass windows of the tower. The teenager grinned as he turned to look back at the others. “A white Christmas? This really is the most magical Christmas ever!" Everyone seemed enamored with the Christmas snow as they all moved closer to the window, smiles gracing their faces. As Loki watched them, a genuine smile spread across his face as he came to the conclusion that he finally was beginning to understand Christmas on Midgard. The Christmas magic Peter had mentioned didn't come from the sweets, the lights, the gifts, or the snow, but from sharing those lovely things with those around you. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the feels. I cried multiple times writing this chapter.


	26. Wednesday, December 26th

Peter woke up early, both nervous and excited. Though their meeting with Tony’s lawyer was not until nine o’clock that morning, the teenager was already dressed and ready to go by eight. He lay in bed, trying to distract himself by watching youtube videos until he smelled fresh coffee and knew that Tony must be awake. He paused the video he was watching and rolled out of bed, making his way to the kitchen.

“Morning!” He called out as he dropped into a chair beside Tony.

“Hey, Pete. You’re up early.” The man said before taking another sip of coffee.

“I’m too excited.” Peter grinned. “When do we have to leave? Is your lawyer far?”

“The judge and my lawyer are coming here. We don’t have to leave at all.”

“Really? I didn’t know judges made house calls…” Peter said in surprise.

“They do when you’re me.” Tony said with a smug grin. Peter rolled his eyes which caused Tony to laugh. The man stood up with his coffee, squeezing Peter’s shoulder as he started walking past him. “I’m going to go take a shower.”

“Aww, but I’m so bored.”

“What is all that for then?” Tony asked as he pointed to the large stack of Christmas presents Peter had left on the coffee table.

“For us to do together?”

“Nice try.” Tony said with a laugh. “I know for a fact that you can definitely play with some of that stuff alone. We’ll do something together a little bit later, hm?”

“Okay, okay. Go take your shower.” The man laughed as Peter walked over to the couch, once again sorting through the plethora of gifts that he had received the day before. Upon finding a giant Lego set, he decided to start work on it alone, opening the box and carefully separating the pieces as he read the directions. By the time Tony came back, Peter has a good start on completing the lego model.

“Looking good, Bud. You ready to head down to the conference room? I had Friday tell May to meet us down there.”

“Yeah, I’m ready. I feel so nervous for some reason.” Peter said as he stood up. Tony smiled as he moved closer to his son.

“I do too. But I’ve also never been more excited for anything in my life.” Peter looked up at Tony before closing the gap between them, his arms tightly wrapped around the older man.

“Dad? Is it okay if just for today I’m clingy?” Tony smiled at the innocence of the question.

“I think it would be expected on today of all days.” The billionaire said softly into Peter’s hair before kissing the top of his head. He rubbed the teen’s back for a moment until Peter voluntarily pulled away. Putting a hand on the boy’s shoulder, Tony led him to the elevator as he asked Friday to take them to the floor with the conference room. Once they arrived and walked through a currently-empty office space, Tony stepped into the room to see that May was already waiting with the lawyer. Tony greeted his lawyer before introducing him to Peter. The adults all spoke for a while and Peter mostly stuck to Tony’s side like glue. When the judge arrived a few minutes later, Tony clapped his hands together.

“Let’s get started.”

* * *

An hour later, the adoption was official. Peter really thought he was over crying, but when he saw Tony sign the paperwork, he burst into tears and hugged Tony as if his life depended on it. Peter was still clinging to his new dad when the judge and the lawyer left, and May walked over to her nephew, leaning to kiss the top of his head as she rubbed his back gently. Tony continued to hold the teenager, whose face was hidden against his shoulder, as he looked up at May and smiled. The woman returned the smile and she moved her free hand to squeeze Tony’s shoulder. Peter sniffled softly, and Tony re-directed his attention to the boy in his arms.

“Peter, you okay, Buddy?” The teenager nodded his head in response and both May and Tony smiled fondly,

“What do you say we get some ice cream to celebrate?” Peter looked up from Tony’s shoulder, his eyes red and teary.

“Before lunch? …Can we eat it here?”

“Yeah, Kid. Never too early to celebrate with ice cream.” Tony said with a soft chuckle. “We can have it delivered, okay?” Peter nodded in response as he returned to hiding his face against Tony’s shoulder. “Hey, what are you doing? You need to get up so we can go back upstairs.”

“I don’t wanna.”

“Come on, I’m an old man. You’re not going to make me carry you back to the elevator are you?”

“That’s true, but I’m not heavy…”

“Hey!” Tony protested as Peter his smile against the man’s shoulder, which caused May to laugh in amusement.

“And you’re **_really_** strong.”

“Well, that’s a lie, but flattery will get you everywhere, Kid.” Tony said as he stood up slowly with Peter clinging to him. When Peter snickered, Tony rolled his eyes before looking at May as they walked back to the elevator.

“Your nephew has me wrapped around his little finger and he’s using it against me.”

“Don’t come complaining to me as if he’s not your son.” May said, giving Tony a soft smile. In that moment, it hit finally Tony that the adoption was now official. The man smiled, tightening his arms around his son as he stepped into the elevator.

“Yeah, my son.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's so sweet that my teeth hurt.   
> I love Tony, May, and Peter so much. ♥


	27. Thursday, December 27th

“Do you have to go back to work?”

“You know that I have to, Peter.”

“Ugh, I know.” The boy said as he flopped onto the guest room bed as his aunt put her pajamas into her overnight bag.

“Come on, you won’t be alone this year. You have plenty of superheroes to keep you company.” May said with a grin.

“That’s true.” Peter agreed as he propped himself up on his elbows. “I’ll still miss you though.”

“I’ll miss you too, Baby.”

“…May?”

“Hm?”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“You know that you can.”

“Promise not to get mad?”

“Peter. Ask the question.” The boy sighed before sitting up, looking at his aunt seriously.

“If I changed my last name would you be mad?” Peter asked, his eyes darting nervously away from May’s. “I’m only thinking about it.” The teenager added quickly, not wanting to hurt his aunt in any way.

“I wouldn’t be mad at all.” She said as she zipped up her bag and sat on the bed beside Peter.

“Really?”

“Of course not. I changed my name when I married Ben, and it never bothered anyone.”

“That’s different!”

“Is it? You are a Parker. If you change your legal name, that part of you won’t change. I know you don’t remember your parents. They were so wonderful, and they loved you so much.” May said wistfully. “But you have a connection with Tony, and you are a Stark now too.

“Well, yeah, but you and Ben raised me and your last name is Parker… I know you weren’t born a Parker, but Ben was… do you think he would be mad at me if I changed my name?”

“You know very well that Ben would only want you to be happy, Peter.”

“Yeah..." The boy said softly, knowing that May was right.

“Do you think Tony would be mad if I don’t take his name?”

“No, I don’t. You heard what he said at the press conference. I don’t think that was something just to appease the media. Besides, if Tony were the type of guy to force his name onto you, I wouldn’t have agreed to the adoption in the first place.”

“I guess…” May pulled Peter into her arms and the boy laid his head on his aunt’s shoulder as she gave him a hug.

“Tony isn’t expecting you to change your name. If you change your name, I won’t be upset, and I know that Ben wouldn’t be either. If you want to remain as Peter Parker, no one will fault you for that. If you want to become Peter Stark, no one will fault you for that either. If you want to keep both names, you could even do something like hyphenate to Parker-Stark. Whatever you decide, you need to decide it because it’s what you want, and not because you’re trying to make someone else happy. After all, it’s your name, right?” Peter looked up at his aunt, propping his chin on her shoulder.

“May, how’d you get to be so smart?”

“That’s for me to know, and you to find out.” She teased, and Peter laughed as he hugged his aunt.

“Thanks, May.” The woman smiled before kissing Peter’s cheek.

“You’re welcome, Sweetheart. Now let me up, or I’ll be late for work.”

“Fiiiine.” Peter said in mock exasperation as he pulled away from his aunt. She stood up and laughed as she took her bag.

“I’ll be back for New Year’s Eve, You’d better call me at least twice before then.”

“Yes, Ma’am!” Peter said with a salute, and May grinned.

“Good. Now go bother your dad.” A smile spread across the boy’s face as he nodded eagerly.

* * *

“Why won’t you tell me where we're going?” Tony said as he suddenly turned the wheel to make a left turn.

“Well, if you let me drive, I wouldn’t have to give you directions.”

“Do you remember the last time I let you drive? I’m so close to the New Year, and I’d like to make it there in one piece.” Peter rolled his eyes.

“We’re almost there! Just drive past the next two streets and make a right.” Tony did as Peter instructed, brow furrowing in confusion as he found himself driving into the entrance of a cemetery.

“Uh, you sure it was ‘turn right after two streets’, Pete?”

“Yeah, this is the right place.” The teen said softly. Drive up to the end of this road and we’ll get out. Tony did as instructed, and the moment he finished parking, Peter hopped out of the car.

“C’mon, Dad!” Peter said before slamming the door shut. Tony smiled to himself as he pulled off his seatbelt and got out of his car. He didn’t think he’d ever tire of being called “Dad”. He followed Peter past several graves before the boy stopped abruptly. “We’re here.” Peter announced, and Tony looked down to see the graves of Richard and Mary Parker. “You took me to meet your parents, so I wanted to bring you to meet mine.” Tony looked at Peter in surprise as the boy leaned against his side. Both of them were silent for several minutes before Peter looked up at Tony.

“I don’t remember them. Not even a little bit. I know what they look like from pictures, and I know what their personalities are like from home movies and stories that May and Ben told me, but I don’t remember them at all by myself.” Tony wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he just rubbed Peter’s back gently and nodded. “I don’t think they’re upset about it.” Peter continued as he turned from Tony to look back at the graves beneath them. “Right? You guys know I was just a baby and I can’t remember anything… you’re still special to me though…So I wanted you to meet my new dad. His name is Tony. He’s the coolest and smartest person ever, so you don’t have to worry about me.” Tony tightened his arm around Peter and the boy smiled. “I guess that’s it.” He said after a moment of silence. As the teen pulled away, Tony turned to head back to the car, but Peter grabbed his hand. “One more, Dad.” Nodding slowly, Tony followed Peter a few hundred feet until they came to the grave of Benjamin Parker. The billionaire watched as his son slid to his knees, tears in his eyes as the teen touched the headstone gently.

“Hi, Ben.” Peter reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of peppermint nougats, sprinkling them onto the base of the headstone beside a small card which was fastened to a poinsettia that was also at the base of the grave. “I saved you some of your favorite Christmas candy… I’m sorry that it’s a few days late…I see May was here. Sorry I didn’t come earlier, but you wouldn’t believe how crazy this month has been… I miss you.” His voice broke as he said the last words, and Tony knelt down beside Peter, pulling the boy into his arms. Peter hugged Tony back for several moments before he turned back to the grave. “This is my new dad. He shares custody with May now. May trusts him, so you don’t have to worry. I just wanted you to meet him. He’s awesome. You recognize him, right? I told you before that he was my mentor, and now he adopted me.” Peter was silent for several moments and Tony hugged him from behind.

“Hey, Ben. From what Peter tells me about you, I think we would have gotten along well. I’m sorry that the timing didn’t work out. You and May raised a great kid, and I don’t know how I got so lucky to have him in my life…I don’t know what you think about me… but if you remember all those old headlines about me, just know I’ve change a lot since then, and my number one priority is taking good care of your nephew.” Tears silently rolled down Peter’s cheeks as Tony spoke. By the time that Tony finished, Peter was smiling through his tears.

“See? You don’t have to worry about me at all, okay?” Peter said as he slowly stood up. “I love you, Ben. I’ll visit again soon, okay?” He said softly. The two slowly stood back up, walking back to the car in silence. It wasn’t until after they had gotten back into the car that Peter finally spoke again.

“Thank you for coming with me. I know it was probably weird.”

“Hey, didn’t I make you go with me first?” The teenager smiled a bit and nodded. “I hope you know that I’ll always be there for you, no matter how uncomfortable something might be, okay?” Peter smiled and nodded in acknowledgment as Tony started the car. He might worry about a lot of things, but one thing Peter knew for sure was that he would never have to worry about feeling alone as long as he had Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony being soft and vulnerable with Peter because he knows Peter will never hurt him gives me a lot of feels


	28. Friday, December 28th

Peter was in a daze, anxiety hitting him like a ton of bricks as loud voices and flashing lights completely surrounded him. He tried to push past it all, but found that he could no longer determine in which direction he needed to head. His delicate senses were completely overwhelmed, and the teen began to panic as he saw no escape from the situation. Peter suddenly felt an arm wrap around him, and he caught a familiar whiff of cologne as he turned to see his father beginning to pull him out of the crowd.

“All right, knock it off!” Tony ordered the paparazzi as he pulled Peter from the throng of photographers. “I don’t care if you follow me around, but you leave my son alone, got it?” Tony pulled Peter into the large department store, letting the store’s security deal with anyone who may try to enter with a camera. “You okay?” Tony asked as he looked down at Peter, who was visibly shaken up.

“Y-yeah. I’m fine… but how do you deal with that all the time?”

“I grew up with it, Pete. I’d probably feel weird if I didn’t have to deal with them from time to time…I’ll try to keep them away from you as much as I can, okay? I think Happy’s going to have to go out with you for a while too.”

“What? I can go out alone. It’s not like any of them could hurt me! I-I could have gotten out!”

“How? By webbing your way out? Sometimes asshole paparazzi invade your space. What would you do? Pick him up and throw him a couple hundred feet?” Tony asked with a laugh. “You don’t need a bodyguard for bodily protection. You need one to help protect your secret identity.” Peter frowned in thought. That hadn’t occurred to him.

“Ugh! Fine, be all smart or whatever.” Peter said with a huff. The man grinned as he ruffled his son’s hair.

“It comes naturally, Kid.” Peter rolled his eyes and Tony laughed out loud.

“I still don’t understand why we’re here anyway.”

“I told you. Retail therapy.”

“Christmas was literally three days ago.”

“Oh come on, Pete. We’re going to have fun. You can buy anything you want, okay?”

“I feel like you don’t know the value of a dollar.”

“I know the value of a billion dollars.” Peter rolled his eyes again at Tony’s comment. “Okay, fine. We’ll only get some things we need. Like sunglasses.”

“You have like five hundred pairs of sunglasses.”

“Not for me. For you.”

“I have a pair somewhere…I think.”

“Pete,” Tony said in exasperation, “Do you know why I wear sunglasses?”

“For aesthetic purposes.” Tony made a sound like a buzzer.

“Incorrect answer. Care to try again?” Peter thought for a moment before shrugging.

“I don’t know…I would say to protect your eyes from the sun, but I’ve seen you wear sunglasses at night more times than I can count.”

“Sunglasses make lights dimmer, and they also hide my eyes.”

“Yeah…that’s true…”

“Camera flashes don’t blind me, and people can’t read me as easily if they can’t see my eyes.” Peter looked surprised.

“You mean… you wear them because of the paparazzi?”

“That’s correct. Well, that’s why I started wearing them so often. You were partly correct earlier when you guessed that it was for aesthetic purposes, but that’s because it just became part of my signature style.

“Do they really help that much?”

“They do for me. Clench your jaw tightly and you’ll look angry. Even if your eyes betray that you’re scared, no one can tell if you have on sunglasses.

“I never thought of that.”

“Good, then it’s settled. We're going shopping.”

* * *

Two hours and ten pairs of designer sunglasses later, Tony and Peter headed back to the entrance of the store.

“Dad, you do know that I didn’t need more than one pair of sunglasses, right?”

“You said that like a hundred times, Peter. And what did I say?”

“That I need different sunglasses for different outfits.”

“Good, I’m glad that you remembered.” The billionaire frowned as he looked through the glass doors, noting half a dozen photographers that still lingered outside the store. Tony grabbed a pair of sunglasses from the shopping bag and took them out of their case, slipping them onto Peter’s face. “All right, when we go outside you clench your jaw and keep your eyes on me until we get back to the car, okay?” Peter nodded quietly before following Tony outside. To Peter’s relief, there were far fewer paparazzi outside than there had been when they went into the store. They still tried to shove cameras into his face and ask him questions, but Peter kept his eyes on Tony until they made it back to the car. Tony drove away immediately, and once the photographers were no longer in view, Peter let loose a breath that he did not even realize he had been holding.

“I did feel better than last time.”

“See?”

“I still think I might need Happy until I get used to it.” Tony laughed softly.

“I know, Kid. Is there anything else you want to do today?”

“Think we could go to the movies? I don’t really wanna go home yet, but I’m too tired to anything else.” Peter said, and Tony smiled as he took a left turn.

“Sounds good to me…anything except a Disney film, okay?”

“You love Disney movies.”

“Pete, you know that, and I know that, but the rest of the word does not need to know that.” Peter laughed and rolled his eyes.

“Fine…We’ll see a chick flick then.”

“Now hold on there just a second!” Tony protested as Peter smirked in his dad’s direction.


	29. Saturday, December 29th

Peter walked out of his room early that morning, wrapped in a fuzzy blue blanket. Tony tried not to laugh at Peter, who looked like an overgrown toddler, as the boy plopped down beside him on the couch.

“Morning.” The boy said sleepily.

“Only for a few more minutes. Someone slept in late today.”

“I was skyping Shuri last night. You know, the time zones and all.”

“Oh yeah? How is the princess?”

“She’s good. Wakanda looks so cool. I wanna go someday.”

“Just tell me when, and I’ll take you.”

“Really? ...Any time?”

“Sure, why not?” Peter blinked a bit, it was still weird having a guardian who was a billionaire. He wondered if he would ever get used to Tony’s perspective of money.

“Uh…no reason.” Peter sniffed a bit and looked at the TV Tony was watching before glancing back at the man once more.

“Uh…Dad?”

“What’s up?”

“I’ve been thinking about changing my name.” Tony looked at Peter in surprise.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, um… I asked May about it and we talked and stuff and… well… I’ve been thinking about it a little bit and…I still want to keep Parker and stuff, but. I want your name too…and I thought about hyphenating it to Parker-Stark, but I don’t know if you think that’s stupid or not, and um, well—“

“Do you want your name to be Parker-Stark?” Peter just looked at Tony as if he were trying to read him and Tony raised an eyebrow. “Peter?”

“Yeah…kinda, I guess.”

“Then it’s settled. I’ll call my lawyer, and we’ll have your name legally changed.”

“You’re not mad that I want to keep ‘Parker’?”

“Peter, I really didn’t even think you’d want my last name and all the baggage that comes with it.”

“Don’t say that…”

“I’m only saying it because it’s true, Kid. I’m honored that you want to take my name too. I just don’t want you to do it because you feel like you have to.”

“May said that you’d say that.” Peter said with a smile.

“She’s a smart woman.”

“I know.” The two were silent for several moments before Tony wrapped his arm around Peter and leaned to kiss his forehead. The teen looked up in surprise.

“In my wildest dreams, I could never have dreamed of a better kid than you. I’m proud of you.” Peter blinked a few times before slowly nodding.

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why?”

“Why are you telling me that now? I mean, I like hearing it.” Peter said quickly, “But it seemed kind of random.” Tony laughed softly and then looked back to the TV, his jaw clenching lightly for a moment before he spoke.

“I always wanted to hear something like that from my old man. I spent years trying to make him happy. Even if he didn’t mean it—which I do, by the way—I wish that just once he would have told me was proud of me.” Peter frowned a little bit, the recent dislike he had toward Howard Stark growing a little bit more. The teenager was silent for a moment before stretching up to kiss Tony’s cheek.

“I know it’s not the same…but I’m proud of you.” Tony stared at Peter for a moment before pulling the boy into his arms, hugging him tightly as a single tear rolled down his cheek. The man said nothing for several minutes before he slowly released Peter from the hug.

“Geez, Kid. I’ve felt more emotions with you in the past week than I have in the past decade. All this emotional vulnerability might actually kill me if I keep up with—“ Tony suddenly stopped talking as he looked down at Peter’s face. “Pete?” He asked, a soft laugh escaping him a moment later when he realized that his son had fallen asleep in his arms. Tony pulled the boy’s blanket up more tightly to ensure that he wouldn’t get cold before the man wrapped his arm back around the sleeping teenager. Tony knew that he wouldn’t get many moments like this; after all, Peter was already a young man. He looked over his son’s sleeping face for a few moments before turning his attention back to the TV as Peter slept against him, wishing sincerely that that moment could last forever.


	30. Sunday, December 30th

“Well, I know what my resolution is going to be. I’m going to see how many times I can trick him into doing something stupid.” Sam said as used his thumb to point to the former assassin beside him.

“Listen, Asshole, I’m still pretty new to the 21st century. How am I supposed to know every time you lie to me about how—“ Bucky was cut off by a Steve, who was glaring at his two friends.

“Maybe your New Year’s Resolutions should involve being nice to each other.”

“Nah.”

“Nope, I’m good.” Steve glared at both men, looking less than amused. Peter laughed.

“Well, my New Year’s resolution is going to be to teach my dad the actual value of a dollar.” Peter said as he aimed a teasing smirk in Tony’s direction.

“Pete, give me a break. We’ve talked about this.” His dad said in exasperation.

“I mean…he has a point Tony.” Natasha said with an amused smile before taking a sip of her coffee. “You’re very smart with money and investments, but at the same time, you don’t have a very realistic grasp of its value.”

“What makes you say that?”

  
“What about the two hundred dollars that you gave me for lunch a few weeks ago?” Peter asked with a grin. Steve raised an eyebrow.

“Two hundred dollars for lunch? Geez, Tony.”

“Oh come on, I just wanted him to have some spending money. I know that a school lunch does not cost that much!” Peter tilted his head to the side as he studied Tony’s face. He thought for a split second he had seen a saddened expression cross the man’s features, but it had happened so quickly, that Peter wondered if he had imagined it. Tony quickly re-directed the attention to Steve by asking if the super soldier would be making any new year’s resolutions. Peter completely missed Steve’s answer, engrossed in his own thoughts as he looked at his dad.

_“He just wanted me to have some spending money? He definitely pretended not to know how much a school lunch cost…but then again he’s Tony Stark. Even if he doesn’t know how much lunch costs, he would know it wasn’t two hundred dollars..”_ Peter’s eyes widened in realization, and if he had been alone, he would have slammed his head onto the table _. “Oh my god, **you idiot.** He re-decorated your room for you and bought you a closet full of expensive clothes. He bought you way too many Christmas presents and ten pairs of very expensive sunglasses. He does that kind of stuff for everyone. He’s always giving all of us things. He’s not completely oblivious to the value of a dollar, he is just is trying to show me that he loves me in the way that makes him most comfortable.” _Peter bit his bottom lip as he looked at Tony, wondering how he could make things right without coming straight out and apologizing to his dad. He had no problem with the idea of apologizing to Tony, but he also knew that it would probably make the man uncomfortable if he did so. Peter thought for several minutes before looking up from his breakfast.

“Hey, Dad. Can you help me with something?”

* * *

“You’ve never really cared about fashion before. What changed?” Tony asked as he opened Peter’s closet and began to look through it.

“Well…I also never had people trying to take pictures of me everywhere I went either.” The boy quipped and Tony laughed.

“Good point.” The man said as he pulled several jackets out of the wardrobe.

“You know I’m not great at picking out clothes and stuff…but like, maybe if I find a style I like it will be easier?”

“You're on to something there.” Tony frowned as he looked through the various jackets now lying on Peter’s bed. “I can see how the clothing I bought might confuse you. There are a lot of different pieces in here. What style do you like wearing the most?”

“Uh…well, I really liked what I wore that day we went to the musical. The outfit with the leather jacket. Actually, I think everything you wore when you were younger looked really cool.”

“A man of good taste.” Tony said with a chuckle. “I think that 80s bad boy look would actually suit you pretty well.” The billionaire began to sort through various articles of clothing, asking Peter what he thought about each piece. “Hmm… these basics work well for you, but you might need some new things.”

“I always thought ripped jeans looked cool, but I’ve never worn them…”

“I can’t believe I didn’t buy you a pair of those before. An absolute must. You’ll definitely need some flannels too. I’ve seen some kids wearing them lately so I think they’re back in style, but even if they aren’t, you can bring them back into style.” The man said with a wave of his hand.

“How could I bring something back into style?”

“Just wear it with confidence, Kid. I started like half of the trends in the eighties.” Peter laughed at Tony’s confidence, though he didn’t doubt his dad’s words. “That reminds me. I definitely still have a few of my favorite pieces in storage somewhere. A few bomber jackets and some bright button downs. I think they’d fit you just about perfectly. A few of them were too ridiculous, but I think you’d like most of them.”

“You mean…you’d let me wear your old clothes?” Peter asked in surprise.

“Why not? Maybe on Wednesday, we can go shopping for everything else you need, huh?” Tony looked excited at the prospect of taking Peter shopping, which made the boy smile as he quickly agreed.

“Yeah! You’re really the best.” Peter said with a sheepish grin.

“I know.” Tony said with a shrug. Peter bit back a laugh as he rolled his eyes dramatically, causing the older man to smirk.

“Maybe your new year’s resolution should be to be more humble!” The teen teased as he stuck his tongue out at Tony.

“I already have a new year’s resolution, thank you very much!”

“What? You didn’t say it yet. What is it?”

“If I say it, it might not come true.”

“That’s for birthday candles!” Peter protested, and Tony laughed loudly.

“Close enough.”

“Dad!”

* * *

Throughout the rest of the day, Peter continued to ask Tony about the resolution he had made to no avail before Tony finally confessed that he was messing with Peter the entire time and that he had not made a resolution. The teenager had groaned in annoyance, though he couldn’t seem to stay mad at Tony, and had soon settled onto the couch beside him so that the two could watch a movie before bed. When Peter fell asleep on the couch halfway through the movie, Tony had turned off the TV and carried the boy to bed, tucking him in before quietly heading back to his own room.

“Hey, Friday. Do you think I already broke my resolution by lying to Peter?”

“As the lie did not hurt Peter, I do not believe that you have. Besides, your resolution technically does not start until the new year begins.”

“I suppose so.” Tony said though he sounded unconvinced.

“If it is of any consolation, I know that Peter already thinks of you as a wonderful father, Boss. You really didn’t even need to make it your resolution to be good to him.”

“The day I slip up and become Howard is the day I’ll lose him. Peter deserves the world, and I’m going to give it to him.”

“With such determination, I foresee a one hundred percent chance of success in keeping your resolution.”

“Thanks, Friday. I’ll be counting on you to help me make sure that I stick to it.”

“Understood, Boss.” Tony sat onto his bed and sighed softly as he stared out the large window at the city lights. Not only was he a new father, but one to a teenage superhero who had little regard for his own safety. Though Tony didn’t know what lay ahead in the next year, he was determined to make sure that Peter had the father he deserved.


	31. Monday, December 31st

“I can’t believe there’s only an hour left of 2018!” Peter said as he looked at the clock.

“I can’t believe that I get to start the New Year with the Avengers!” Ned said excitedly as Peter shot him a look of embarrassment.

“Hey, Kid. Show me how you did that spin move thing earlier!” Bucky called out to Ned from the couch where he and Sam were currently battling in a video game.

“Sure thing, Sergeant Barnes, Sir!” Ned said, eyes filled with excitement as he ran over to the couch. Peter laughed and rolled his eyes as Loki came up behind him.

“Midgardians get quite excited over the New Year, I see.” The god remarked as he looked around at the balloons, streamers, and bottles of champagne around the room.

“It’s exciting. Don’t you think so, Mr. Loki?” Peter asked as he turned to face the tall prince.

“I don’t see it that way. After all, nothing really changes. It’s just one day after the other.”

“Well, yeah, I guess so. But it’s kind of symbolic…You know, It gives everyone hope. If someone had a bad year, they can have hope that this New Year will be better for them, right?”

“Hmm…Perhaps, I see your point.” The god said thoughtfully as he looked down at Peter.

“Besides, an excuse to celebrate is always welcome!” Loki rolled his eyes at the teen’s words.

“Now you sound like Thor.”

“Thank you!” Peter exclaimed. Loki looked mildly annoyed at being thanked for what he had intended as an insult before his face softened a bit as Peter felt someone wrap their arms around him from behind.

“Happy New Year, Peter.” The boy heard his aunt’s soft voice as she gave him a hug. Peter grinned, turning to face May.

“I was worried you weren’t coming!”

“I got off late tonight. I’m not working tomorrow though.” She said, and Peter grinned.

“Good. Maybe we can show Dad our French toast recipe?”

“Did I hear someone mention me?” Tony asked as he walked over to kiss May on the cheek. Loki rolled his eyes at the man’s question before giving a slight bow.

“Terribly lovely to see you again, May. I’m afraid my presence is requested anywhere that’s…not here.” Loki said with a glance at Tony who feigned being insulted as both May and Peter laughed.

“Yes, Tony. Every morning on New Year’s Day, we make our special French toast." May explained. "You can help us make it tomorrow if you’d like.”

“That sounds perfect. What makes it special though?”

“The secret ingredient!” Peter said with a grin.

“Which is…?”

“That’s why it’s a secret, Tony.” May said, and Peter laughed.

“Yeah, you’ll find out tomorrow when you help us make it!”

“You’d think I asked for your bank PIN.” Tony said in mock irritation, and Peter snickered.

“Hi, May!” Ned called out as he noticed the woman behind him. Bucky whipped around, a large smile on his normally stoic face.

“May!” The super soldier said in delight as he looked at the woman who reminded him so much of his younger sister.

“Hi, Ned. Hi, Bucky.” The woman said cheerily as she headed in their direction. Peter and Tony followed her, and within a few minutes, almost everyone in the apartment had gathered around on the couches, talking and laughing with one another as they enjoyed their last moments of the year. Toward the end of the hour, Tony held up his phone.

“One minute left to the New Year!” Peter and Ned hopped up, grabbing confetti poppers and paper horns off the nearby table and, handing them out to everyone in the room. As they began the ten-second countdown, Peter sat down between his aunt and his dad, a horn in his mouth as he had a confetti popper in his hands. At twelve on the dot, there were shouts of “Happy New Year” accompanied by the sound of party horns being blown and confetti poppers being popped. As Peter took the horn from his mouth and joined in the celebratory shouts, May leaned in to kiss his left cheek as Tony kissed his right. Peter grinned as he looked at his aunt and then at his father. Just a month ago, Peter never would have imagined that he would be ringing in the New Year with a new dad. Though his year had ended very differently than imagined, Peter wouldn't change the last month of his life for anything in the world. As he turned to look at the rest of his confetti-covered, dysfunctional family, Peter felt as if his heart might burst. The teen hoped that it would be a good year, but there was no doubt in his mind that whatever the next 365 days had in store, he would be able to get through it with the help of his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this story. I had a lot of fun writing it, even though I did have to end up finishing it in January. :/ Thank you to everyone who read and commented! :) 
> 
> I really enjoy this tooth-rotting fluff sometimes. It's a nice contrast to my very angsty main fic. I'm thinking about starting another fic that would be a continuation of this one. It might have some more angsty moments, but we'd still get a lot of this sugary-sweet Irondad/Spiderson stuff. Would anyone be interested in that?


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